Where Do Your Loyalties Lie?
by Jedi Healer
Summary: After being thrust into a situation in which she cannot escape, Seiko agrees to accompany the Fourth Espada to Hueco Mundo. She is locked up inside th palace of Las Noches, & finds herself slowly falling for her captor, Ulquiorra. A story unlike any other
1. Seiko Kumori

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach...**

The story doesn't start until the next chapter. This is just to tell you what Seiko Kumori's whole character is like, as opposed to Orihime Inoue in the anime/manga. Please read it before you continue.

I'm sorry if the description is a little sloppy, but I did the best I could!

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_What if Orihime was not a shy, timid redhead with big navy irisis and a soft voice, in love with Ichigo Kurosaki, but Seiko Kumori, a somewhat bold, caring blonde with striking green eyes...who impossibly falls for someone she should never, ever have feelings for; a being with whom the laws of the nature of good and evil, human, soul reapers, and hollows, could never accept?_

Seiko is smart, pretty high school girl, with straight bleach blonde hair, silvery grey eyes, pale ivory skin and a slender figure. All the guys think she is angel-like.

Tatsuke Arisawa is Seiko's best friend. She slowly became close friends with Uryu, Yasutora, Ichigo, and sort of Rukia, when Ichigo's life changed when Rukia showed up and he became a soul reaper, which affected everyone around him.

Ichigo always distantly frustrates Seiko by the way he acts, never saying anything about himself and frowning all the time, like he hates the world. And she feels bad whenever he comes to save her from danger. She hates being saved and protected, but sometimes no matter how hard she trains, there are those who are just too strong for her. She is determined to do everything she ever can to fight for, and protect, when needed, her friends and even those around her.

Seiko often goes off solitary on her own when she is too distracted or wants to be in silence to study. Usually she has a neutral expression on her face, not frowning but not grinning either. She lets her mind wander in classes all the time. Yet she somehow made it in the top 15 of the grade, more than once. The teacher sometimes calls on her for not paying attention and when she does not answer questions right, she'll have to do chores or some other light punishment in between classes, during lunch, or after school. She always wears her uniform shirt untucked, and never wears the red bow with it, as well as leaving one button on the top of her shirt stylishly undone. Her hairclips containing her powers..are shiny, silver asterisks.

Seiko has exceptional reasoning skills, like Uryu, and always uses logic to explain why something happened, though usually Ishida beats her to it, sometimes she is the one to reach the conclusion/solution quicker. Seiko loves tricking someone into giving away something that they refused to talk about.

Seiko love poetry- her writing style mysterious and sometimes dark, and always astonished her classmates with her deep, [striking] amazing talent. She is very good at illustrating the words into a beautiful masterpeice, her drawing style the same as her writing. She often gets into trouble for drawing or writing in class, not paying attention to what the teacher is saying.

On the outside, Seiko may appear innocent and normal, but when she is irritated, she contradicts that persona completely. When she is mad, or even determined, she is someone to fear. And the differences between what is right and wrong are blurry to her, but she constantly does her best to do what is right. She she will be extremely hard working and persevering, and optimistic.

"Seiko" means truth, or force. "Kumori" means cloudy, or shadow.


	2. Prologue

**Along with the story, I can give several Bleach OST tracks either used in the anime, or that would be fitting in the situation. Here, "Fiesta de Guerra" begins to play at a specific point (which I did not include in the scene here) **

_~*~_

_[Prologue]_

Sosuke Aizen stared at the screen, the image before him, of the girl who's strange abilities had struck his interest. Seiko Kumori...One of the Substitute Soul-Reaper's friends.

Her hand went to her hairpin. And the dome of golden light spread over the fallen wounded young man, and began to reverse the damage of his shredded right arm...

"You have an interesting ability...young lady."

~*~

* * *

~*~

Espada number four, Ulquiorra Schiffer, went back to the World of the Living with an objective. He returned to the place where they had first shown up, to collect information from the traces of spirit energy around the spot, on the girl's abilities, analyzing them more closely again.

~*~

Then he returned to Lord Aizen, and reported before him.

"Well?"

"There are traces of that past incident. At the time, most of it was just simple guess work. But upon further investigation, I've decided the basis behind her actual abilities."

"So what do you think?" Aizen asked.

"I think she possesses a power that you will definately benefit from," the Cuatro Espada answered.

"I see. So, where is she right now?"

"I'm not sure, but she's probably not in the World of the Living."

"Good work, Ulquiorra." Aizen said.

"My pleasure." The Espada left, dismissed.

~*~


	3. Not Negotiation

PART 1,

Unchosen Fate

* * *

"Hado 33, Sokatsui!"

"Soten-Kishun!" Seiko blocked Rukia's attack, thwarting it. Rukia drew her sword, running at Seiko.

"I'm not finished yet!" She leaped into the air, coming at Seiko from above.

"Koten-Saichun!" Seiko said, without hesitation. She landed a blow, grazing Rukia's cheek.

"Ha!" She said.

"Hmph!" Rukia pushed off the ground again, soaring up into the air, flipping summersaults, now behind Seiko.

"Hado 4, Byakuai!" She yelled. Seiko had already turned the moment Rukia pushed off the ground again.

"Oh no you don't! Santen-Keshun!" The two forces collided, creating a spectacular clashing of blue and golden light, cackling intensely. The force was strong, but Seiko held out, until it became too much for her. It was a real handful, battling Rukia's powerful kido attacks. But she was doing pretty well. She was getting better, faster, and stronger.

Seiko dived to the side, to avoid getting hit by the energy as she let it overtake her, a stragetic move. Rukia landed on the ground, then raised her hands above her head, shouting out another kido attack, and hurled it towards Seiko.

Seiko dodged it, and came at Rukia from the side. "Tsubaki!" Rukia managed to dodge her attack in time, but Tsubaki swung around for a second attack, not anticipated by Rukia.

Another graze, this time on her neck.

"Dang." Rukia said, impressed. Seiko was getting more and more fierce (Which was a good thing). Then she suddenly stopped, as a hell butterly flew down into the training pit, to deliver a report. A look of shock, and urgency came onto her face. Seiko watched Rukia, confused, about what was going on all of the sudden.

"Rukia!" Captain Ukitake exclaimed, another hell butter fly fluttering beside him.

"Yes sir! I just recieved a report on the Espada's recent activities!" Rukia said.

"The Kidoko are working on opening up the gate! Go to the Senkaimon in front of the barracks!" Ukitake said.

"Yes sir!" Rukia sheethed her sword, hurrying away.

"Wait for me!" Seiko said, starting to run after Rukia. She had figured out pretty much what the situation was. The Espada had showed up again in the world of the living. She had to go help her friends fight as well!

Rukia turned and stopped her. "Seiko, no. You don't have a hell butterfly. If you try to pass through the Senkaimon with me you'll end up in the dangai, the border between the World of the Living and the Soul Society."

Captain Ukitake appeared down behind Seiko abruptly, she turning to look at him. "I just ordered the outer wall to be stabilized, so you'll be able to pass through the dangai safely. I know you're in a hurry," He took a few steps toward Seiko. "but you have to stay calm. Understand?"

"_Kh_-Yes sir." Seiko said, her gaze reluctant but still determined.

"I'll be waiting for you on the other side." Rukia said, looking at her, then bounding away, up the sides of the training pit.

"Okay."

-Seiko stood waiting anxiously, and respectfully for the Dangai to be stabalized so she could hurry up and follow Rukia back into the World of the Living, where the Espada had suddenly showed up, and were probably on their way to engage the Soul Reapers stationed there, Toshiro, Rangeku, Yumichika, and Ikakku, as well as Ichigo, and Uryu and Chad were in danger as well.

"Kumori. Seiko Kumori. We have finished stabilizing the walls of the Dangai. You may now pass through." The Kidoku stationed on the left side of the Senkaimon said. Seiko gave a grim nodd, preparing to rush through it, mustering up her strength, energy, and determination immediately. Adrenaline already coursed through her, urgency like alarm bells inside of her mind, screaming at her to hurry.

"Be careful." Captain Ukitake said.

"Yes, sir." Seiko replied, turning and bowing sincerely and respectfully. "And thank you." She turned and sprinted into the bright light of the gate, entering into the Dangai. She remembered this place well, having run through it several times before, to pass between the Soul Society with her friends, rescueing Rukia from her execution and fighting the Bounts. The surroundings of the border between the two worlds were all purplish blak tone, with a bare ground, and only a clear, straight path, lined on either side by the frozen restrictive currencies, looking like jagged rocks and portrusions.

As she ran, keeping a steady pace so as to preserve her strength wisely, but still going as fast as she could manage, a man in a blak Shihaksho appeared suddenly on her right, running alongside her, succeeded quickly by another one on her left. Seiko glanced at them, startled.

_What?_ She thought, just as the one on her left said,

"We shall accompany you."

"Huh? But I'll be fine alone. There's no need to accompany me..." Seiko said. She didn't spare a glance at either of them again; it slowed her down. She listened to the Soul Reaper explain their presence.

"You're not an intruder anymore. You're our guest now."

A guest?

"Two Soul Reapers without hell butterflies customarily escort a guest when they travel between the two worlds. Sorry for the inconvenience, but you understand?"

"I suppose." Seiko said, reluctantly. She was worried that she would put them in danger when they got to the World of the Living. But she couldn't do anything about it now. She kept running, narrowing her eyes, searching for the light that would signify the end of the path.

_Come on.. _

She had to get there as fast as possible. She knew she was already strong enough to be of help to her friends, and even stronger now, from rigorous training with Rukia in the Soul Society over the past month. She had to be there to do her part. It was important.

_Wait for me, Rukia. I know I can help. _

After a minute or so, all of the rocks and outcroppings began to look the same, registering as a purple blur on either side of her, as she went foward, willing the path to end soon so she could make herself useful to her friends, quickly.

_Come on..._

Suddenly, as Seiko and the two Soul Reaper escorts dashed through the precipice world, a voice spoke, not either of their voices, but a different one, a smooth, cold, even voice, that caused Seiko to falter, and stop suddenly, her eyes widening subtly. She looked around for the voice, as it spoke out of the blue, the escorts with her stopping a moment later.

"What's this, only two guards?" The voice inquired. Seiko's heart raced, as she searched for where the voice was coming from, looking around into the darkness that she had just been running with her back to, but finding no one.

Then, Seiko's heart hammered in her chest, as a thin line appeared, before her eyes, slowly elongating in the air, the strange ripping sound filling her anxious ears, kreeking slowly, hauntingly.

She heard the voice of the mysterious ambusher again, and it struck her as utterly familiar, somehow. She had heard it before...But her mind couldn't quite believe it, that he was here, right now, intercepting her...Could it really be? She knew, behind that thin crack hanging in the air, was an arrancar...one that she had encountered once before.

"The Soul Society's incompetence never ceases to amaze me. They just don't seem to understand-"

Seiko's eyes widened, her entire body tensing, as the rift opened suddenly, revealing the Espada that she had feared it was, blak abyss and swirling mists behind the white clad figure.

"-that a person is most vulnerable when they're traveling."

It was...

_Ulquiorra..._The spark of recognition was visible in Seiko's shocked eyes.-the name immediately entered her mind as soon as she saw his face, one she'd seen before, approximately a month ago. She could never forget that face...The Espada had haunted her thoughts, her mind, ever since that last encounter...She could never forget those cold, emerald eyes, staring right at her, straight through her, as if she were not even real.

_No...No way..._Seiko stared in disbelief at the cold Espada, her breath caught in her throat-that same pale face, and cold, unfeeling green eyes staring at her, _here, right now. _Was this really happening? Why was he here-what could he possibly want to do with her?... Was he here to eliminate her, while she was separated from her friends, all alone, vulnerable, only two low ranking Soul Reapers to guard her? But if the Espada had said to Yammy before, that she was just trash, then there was no reason to bother, was there?

Seiko thought back to that last encounter...and remembered again, him staring at her indifferently, his cold, piercing gaze sending her heart racing. _"You're a strange human, aren't you?" _He'd said, observing her powers as she used them to heal Chad's arm, shreaded brutally from Yammy's attack.

Ulquiorra took a step foward, his sandaled foot crunching dry twigs beneath him. He walked slowly towards Seiko.

"Only two guards. I must admit, I'm dissapointed in the Soul Society. Although it's convenient that the restrictive currencies have been frozen." The Espada stopped walking foward.

Seiko knew that she was trapped here, with the Espada standing there, right in front of here, very easily able to stop her if she tried to run, and no match for the two Soul Reapers accompanying her. Any one of the Espada were strong enough to kill her with one blow. She could not even think of fighting him. She was left utterly defenseless compared to his immense power; for Ulquiorra had been strong enough to block Kisuke Urahara's _Benehime,_ with just the effortless swipe of his hand, as if he were swatting away a mere fly.

Seiko looked at him, swallowing discreetly.

"You're-Ulquiorra." She said.

"Yes." The Espada replied to her. " I'm surprised that you remembered my name." He remarked casually. Seiko doubted she would ever forget it. She didn't understand what was going on, or why this was happening. What could he want with her? It didn't look like he was inclined towards any action of violence.

"It's not in my nature to burst in like this, but I thought that we needed to talk."

_To talk? _Had Aizen sent the Espada to discuss with her about her powers? But of what use could they possibly be to him? Seiko didn't know what to do, or how to respond. She stared at him, the Espada Ulquiorra, not taking her eyes off of his face. His appearance looked so unique; foreign, with blak hair, acting in a stark contrast with his smooth, pale skin; and under both of his vivid green eyes, staring at her, ran one thin, green line, like a god had taken a brush and ran it from his lid down his cheeks. His hollow mask sat on the left side of his head like half of a broken helmet, but neatly seregated, one horn jutting out out of the top side.

The Soul Reaper on Seiko's left abruptly drew his sword, bearing it at the arrancar, rashly challenging him.

"Who the h*** are you, anyway? Are you an arrancar?" Seiko's gaze snapped over to him, and she reacted immediately, in alarm.

"No! Shut up! Don't-" But it wasn't enough. Ulquoirra's hand slowly rose out of his pocket, and hovered in front of him in response to the Soul Reaper, red, sizzling energy crackling in a thin ring around his pallid rist, an attack about to be hurtled towards his worthless challenger.

"No! Don't do it! You said you wanted to_ talk_!" Seiko exclaimed, but before she had even finished, Ulquiorra attacked the man, ignoring her indifferently. The blow struck him, and blood spattered out of the wound. The Soul Reaper crashed to the floor, Seiko watching, his entire left arm, shoulder, and part of his torso blown off completely, leaving only ragged, bloody tissue in its place. Her teeth clenched, as Ulquiorra then said,

"Yes, I came here to talk. I have something important to tell you," he answered to her previous objection, his hand still held out in front of him, the red light around his wrist still cackling. Seiko reached her hand up to her hairpin, to cast her barrier over the fallen Reaper.

"Soten-Kishun." She said. Her golden barrier encompassed the wounded man, as he gasped and breathed in pain and shock, still conscious, while she turned urgently to the other one on her right, who stood there in shock, trembling.

"Go!" She said. "Get out of here!"

"B-but-"

"Go! Before he kills you too-" But she was again too late to stop him. Ulquiorra struck down him down as well, expressionlessly. More blood spattered, as he fell to the ground, mirroring his comarad's fate.

Seiko reacted quickly, increasing the size of her barrier urgently to encompass both of the wounded Soul Reapers, her back now turned to the Espada, needing to concentrate on their wounds. She looked back at Ulquiorra, as he watched her curiously, completely uncaring of the wounds he had inflicted on the two Soul Reapers; and she suddenly got the feeling that he had done this just to witness her use her powers again, as she used them to help the two injured Soul Reapers. Why hadn't he just killed them, if he wanted them out of the way?

"Huh." She heard him say, letting out a contemplative breath, that sent chills down her spine. She herself was unafraid that Ulquiorra would strike her down while she stood with her back facing him; for one, he'd said he needed to talk to her, and two, if he did strike her down, it wouldn't matter whether she was facing him or not, because either way, he was too powerful for her to stop at all, no matter how strong she became.

Ulquiorra began to walk towards Seiko again.

"I must say, that's quite an impressive ability you posess." He remarked. "To heal wounds that deep."

Seiko slowly turned around to face the Espada half-way, staring at him as he came towards her casually. He had used her, just to observe the extent of her powers. Seiko clenched her fist, trying to keep herself in check. She had not had the power to stop him- What could she do? She was all alone, there was no one there to help her. She was defenseless; helpless.

What did he want to talk to her about?

Ulquiorra thought that this girl that Lord Aizen wanted, was actually remotely interesting...Not only did she possess these srange powers, but her demeanor remained strong and firm despite the situation; she didn't show any signs of fear, or weaknesses. She was incredibly bold in the face of danger.

"Now come with me, little girl." Ulquiorra said to her.

Seiko's eyes widened subtly. "What..." She uttered, in shock. What was he doing? And why had he called her 'little girl'? Was it because she was just that, compared to him, insignificant, utterly powerless?

Ulquiorra stared into the girl's eyes, as if he could see her soul, and replied to her,

"Don't speak." Something inside of Seiko jolted at the tone of his voice, but she didn't take notice of it as he continued to speak. "Yes is all I want to hear. If you say anything other than that, people will die." He halted there, in front of her.

People would _die? _Seiko watched him, trepidition filling her, knowing better than to not take a threat from the Espada seriously. He was being serious.

"I don't mean you." He said, as if reassuring her.

Images suddenly appeared on either side and above Ulquiorra, in the air, and he said,

"I'm talking about those who are closest to you." Seiko's heart lurched, as she realized that these were the faces of her friends, fighting in the World of the Living-Ichigo, Toshiro, Rangeku..

"No..." She said, in shock and denial. If she refused to with him, they would be killed, or else seriously injured. She _couldn't _say no. She had no choice but to go...To agree to go with him, wherever he might take her, which she did not know, but the most likely possibility, was Hueco Mundo. How could this be happening? Was all of this real? Why did he want her to go with him?

"Don't ask any questions." Ulquiorra said. "Don't tell me anything. You have no rights. The only thing you do have is the rope holding the blade of the geity, safely suspended above the necks of your friends." He said.

"Make no mistake, little girl." His cold green eyes stared into hers.

_Little girl. _Seiko deeply wished he would not call her that. She resented that name immensely now.

"This is not a negotiation." He said. "It's an order. For some reason, Lord Aizen has decided he wants your power. He dispatched me here with orders to bring you back unharmed."

Seiko's heart pounded, her eyes showing the comphrehension and realization of what this was all for. Aizen..did want her powers. But why? Why was this happening? Why did he want _her_? Seiko stared at Ulquiorra, the Espada who had come to take her away.

"I'll only say it one more time." He said, and looked straight into her eyes, his gaze piercing her.

"Come with me, _little girl_." Shock paralyzed her.

"It's over." Ulquiorra said. " You have no means to fight anymore. The sun has set; the day is ours."

_Ours. _That meant she was really going with him, to Hueco Mundo, to Aizen...The reality of what was happening weighed on her brain suddenly, threatening to crush her. She had no choice but to go, or they would kill her friends..

She was being forced to leave her entire life, her friends behind, to go with him.

*Ulquiorra walked over to the shocked girl, and handed her a small silver bracelet, grabbing her hand non-violently, and placing it in her palm, closing her fingers over it with his hand, the other remaining inside of the pocket of his arrancar uniform.

"Take this, and do not remove it." He said, lowering his hand back into his pocket. "While wearing it, a special type of spiritual barrier will surround you, and you will be invisible to the outside world. Only we arrancars will be aware of your presence."

Why was he giving her this? Seiko wondered.

"You'll find you have one more ability." He said. " You'll be able to pass through any phsyical object that exists in your world."

Ulquiorra stared at her sternly. "Do not take it off, for any reason." He said. He opened up a rift behind him.

"You have twelve hours." Seiko watched Ulquiorra go, confused, and shocked. He was letting her go?

Ulquiorra turned his back to Seiko and walked towards his exit.

"I give you permission to say goodbye to one person during that time. However, if that person realizes what you are doing, then you will have disobeyed my orders." Ulquiorra stepped into the rift, and it closed on him, but, as when he had first showed up, Seiko could still hear his voice.

"You will come to me at midnight. Finish whatever business you have by then and meet me in the designated area. Don't forget. You can say goodbye to one person, and one person only."

Seiko realized, as she stood there, that if she had said no, her friends probably would've been killed, and she'd have been taken anyway. She had no liberties, no rights anymore. This had really happened...Was really happening, and there was nothing in her power she could do to stop it. She didn't know what Aizen would do with her, why he wanted her powers, or what would become of her there in Hueco Mundo. All she knew was that she had to do this, and there was no escaping this unchosen fate that had fallen upon her so suddenly.

* * *

PART 2,

12 Hours

_"It feels like I'm being pulled from my roots of concentrated thought too quickly. I look at the sky and try to think of bright times even when it rains down hard._  
_Sickening sweetness flows on the wind from the corner of the street. And the world goes silent just in time for it to hear me weep..."_

Seiko walked down the street slowly, in the broad daylight of the afternoon, staring down at the street in a deep, shocked daze. The fight with the Espada had already ended, just as Ulquiorra had said. All of her friends were still alive, though beaten up. Ichigo and Toshiro, she sensed, were the most injured of the group. She wished so badly that she could help them.

Ulquiorra had told her that she had 12 hours to say goodbye to her friends and her life, for she might never return to. And she was wearing the bracelet that the Espada had given her and forbidden her to take off; that made her spiritual pressure undetectable to anyone except the arrancars, as well as rendering her invisible to everyone around her. No one even knew where she was, or where she had gone. It tore her up, but in the situation she had been thrown into, there was nothing she could do about it.

Huaco Muendo awaited her at midnight. 12 hours until she was taken away, into Aizen's clutches with Ulquiorra, all which she had no choice but to go, for the sake of her friends _lives. _Seiko kept repeating what had just happened over and over, letting it slowly sink in. The dread and disbelief would soon root itself inside of her, when she realized the weight of the situation.

Seiko went back to her apartment, switching into task-mode. She was dissapearing, and there were two soul reapers staying at her house. She ahd to make sure they would be able to take care of things after she was _gone. _She thought about what her friends would be like without her, as she turned the key and opened the door to her apartment, throat aching, and head spinning.

Toshiro and Rongeku had been staying at her apartment. If she didn't leave a list of chores to do to keep the house in shape, it would mean disaster. Rangeku was the one in particular who was too lazy to even try to clean up after herself. Atleast Toshiro would help... Seiko went in to her room, and knelt in front of the desk on the floor with a notebook and a pencil, flipping the desk light on to see. She wrote the list of duties for them.

_Rongeku and Toshiro_

_Chores:_

_All of the garbage goes in the big trash can. Extra trash bags are in the pantry. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the trash collectors come to pick the garbage up, so make sure you have it out on the curb before 8:00a.m., or they won't pick it up. _

_Laundry day: Dirty stuff goes in the basket on the floor. After any dirty towels are clean, fold them and stack them on the table._

_Left over food can be wrapped or covered in plastic and put in the fridge. _

_Turn lights and TV off when you are not using them, to save money. _

"That should cover it.." Seiko thought. She flipped off the light, and left the notebook lying open on the table, for Toshiro and Rongeku, and went out again, trying to figure out what she would do...next.

Seiko wanted to visit her school one last time before was taken away from this life, and to Huaco Muendo...where she might never come back from. So she walked down through the streets, heading towards where her school was.

People strolled down the sidewalks and in the streets around her, about their own business. It was late getting later; the air was breezy. As she watched all the people around her, not paying attention to where she was going. She suddenly bumped into a man walking past her with his friend, startling her out of her deep daze. She hurredly apologized to the guy, but then stopped short, when he payed no attention to her.

"Hey what's up what are you looking at?" His companion asked, when the other stopped, glancing around confusedly. The other that she'd bumped in to rubbed the back of his head, puzzled.

"If felt like I just bumped into something, but I can't see what it was."

"What are you talking about, there's nothing near you. Are you going nuts on me?" The other dropped his hand and followed his friend.

"I dunno, maybe...I thought I hit something...It's a wierd feeling, that's for sure...kind of soft and squishy..." His voice trailed off as the two men walked away, completely unaware of Seiko. She remembered again that nobody around her could see her with the bracelet that Ulquiorra had given her and forbidden her to remove.

Then, as she started walked again, she recalled, the other thing that he had told her about it, as she gazed absently at a window display of a long, blak and red party-gown masquarade costume in the party shop, worn by a chick manikan, a little, beautifully ornate, matching face mask attached to the shoulder. Seiko stopped, then slowly walked over to the window...

_"You will be invisible to the outside world. Only we arrancars will be aware of your presence."_ As she remembered his voice, she felt that usual pang of apphrehension. Ulquiorra had also said,_ "You'll find you have one more ability. While you have it on, you will be able to pass through any physical object that exists in your world_." Seiko's eyes widened slightly upon the realization, as she stared at the glittering, elegant facade. Seiko reached her hand out, and tentatively touched her fingers-_into_ the glass-they went through it, as if it were water, or a bubble. She drew her hand back, shocked, at the feeling, fascinated by it, although it was somehow disturbing at the same time...

Seiko arrived at her school, walking through the campass to where her classroom was, like she used to do every morning, while the sky continued to gradually fade into early evening. As she strolled down the sidewalk, the nostalgia and grief creeped in on her, while she looked up at the buildings, and windows of classrooms... the sound of some kids playing soccer on the turf close by heard in the background of her consciousness. Outside of the classroom, Seiko walked into the building of her school, climbing that set of stairs that was so familiar to her, and walking down the hall, and into her classroom. She stood looking at the neat rows of empty desks swept clean of text books and pencils.

The empty teacher's desk, located in the very front of the classroom, beside the large chalk board, might have seemed tempting, but just then, she heard Keigo's and Mizuiro's voices outside- Seiko's eyes went wide, and she ducked out of sight instinctively.

She rememberd foolishly then, again, that she could not be seen. And Keigo came running into the classroom, singing,

"Hey hey, forgot something. Hey hey, forgot something!", jogging in like an idiot, with his usual, goofy behavior. Mizuiro trailed behind him, walking into the room.

"Mr. Asano, will you please stop singing?" He pleaded lightly.

Keigo gave Mizuiro a weepy look. "I thought I told you, stop being so formal, calling me by my last name. I mean we are friends, aren't we?" He whined.

Mizuiro turned away, his voice hitting a high, mockingly exasperated pitch. "Of course we are...You certainly are touchy today.."

"You don't know the pressure I'm under!" Keigo replied.

Seiko smiled faintly at the humorous scene, despite herself. The two left after Keigo had retrieved his 'something' that he had 'hey hey forgotten', and her smile abruptly faded. The sadness fell like a weight on her chest. Then, her gaze happened to fall over on Tatsuki Arisawa's desk...

Tatsuki was her best friend, but ever since Ichigo had become a Soul Reaper, and she'd gotten these powers-things had never really been the same anymore. There was-like a rift, between them, trying to tear them apart. She imagined how _lonely _Tatsuki must feel, without her around-and ...things would never be the same again.

Seiko sat on the branch of that tree-that held memories-of back when times were easy, and nothing bad happened-back when she had first met Rukia, and didn't know anything about the Soul Society, or hollows, or Soul Reapers... She looked up at the setting sun in the distance, behind the rows of green trees...And suddenly, she jumped down from the tree, and ran. She ran to the place where Tatsuki always practiced karate every evening after school...

As she approached the building, Seiko saw Tatsuki, hearing their sensei saying "Keep up your pace. Don't slack off!" As she and the others trudged in a straight line around the building, coming up in the front. Seiko stared at her best friend, and saw the worry, and the masked pain in her face. _Tatsuki_... She walked towards her friend, overwhelming grief pressing down on her-she would never see her again-...And it had to end like this..

Suddenly, a kid kicked a soccerball, and it came-flying towards her. She was so distracted that she did not even have time to dodge it-her eyes widening, as it passed right through the top of her head. Seiko let out a tense breath, looking back at her best friend...Tatsuki stopped to stare at the soccer ball, that had landed there, and Seiko stood there, unseen by her, but it was like Tatsuki was looking at her-and Seiko deeply wished she was-This was the last time she would ever see Tatsuki again-...

"Arisawa, what's the hold up?" Her sensei asked.

Tatsuki resumed walking on, replying, "Nothing, sir." Seiko watched as she left. She had no real goodbye, she couldn't tell anyone where she was going. She was being taken away from her entire life, with no guarentee of a return, because Ulquiorra had threatened the lives of her friends, and that left her unable to refuse him. But she never thought she would have to pay this kind of price...

She had about 8 more hours left. Seiko wondered why Ulquiorra had even given her time to say goodbye. Why not just take her and leave? She continued to wonder what would happen to her at Huaco Muendo. If she would ever come back. Sosuke Aizen wanted her for some high and mighty purpose of his...and she could not refuse, because he would kill her friends if she said no-and then take her away anyway.

6 more hours...

Seiko walked the streets for a long time, not knowing where she was going. Then she went to an empty park, gazing the long shadows of the empty, creaking swingset, beautiful. She sat down on the swing, The sky was getting darker and darker, yellow and orange hues spread across its expansion. She swung listlessly back and forth, looking down at the ground, wondering who she would choose to say goodbye to. She couldn't get that look she saw on Tatsuki off of her mind. It was haunting her with guilt.

She had to say goodbye to her friend... Seiko got up from the swing, creaking as the inertia caused it to swing faintly back and forth, and walked with purpose, towards her best friends house.

She stopped in front of the house, remembering all the times she'd stayed over-and then she went into Tatsuki's room, through the window, slowly slipping through it, and shivering at the strange feeling. She saw her friend was asleep. It was 10:55 pm.

"Tatsuki..." She said. She wanted to say a last goodbye to all her other friends, but she would be going against the Espada's orders, and so soon, she could not defy him. She didn't know what would happen if she did. She looked around at her room-Tatsuki had rearranged things a bit since she'd last been in here.

"Oh Tatsuki.." She said, closing her eyes. "I'll miss you so much... You've been such a great friend to me, all these years...And now I'll...never see you again." A solemn tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm sorry. For not being a better friend..."

Seiko leaned down to hug her, then turned away, and left the way she'd come in. "Goodbye...Tatsuki."

Seiko didn't want to go back to her apartment, Toshiro and Rangeku were almost definately home. She just had to wait, for her impending fate brought on by Sosuke Aizen. She walked the streets, under the now-dark sky, and ended up by the river. She sat down, on a bench in the grass, staring at the shimmering river, reflecting the beautiful moon on its surface. She loved the moonlight. On the other side, across the small expansion of water, was the buildings and lights of the town.

_I can't believe this is happening. I'm going away... I'm dissapearing. _She thought. Waiting to be swept away from all that she had known (at midnight) was the worst feeling ever. Seiko laid down on the bench, staring at the moon's soft reflection in the water, a dazzling sight. She slowly drifted asleep, her eyes to heavy to keep open. How much more time?

Seiko awoke with a start, blinking and seeing the water and green grass in front of her. Then, when she moved to get up, remembering that she was supposed to meet Ulquiorra again at midnight, she realized that she had no idea how to get back into the dangai. She couldn't get back there on her own. And she couldn't get anyone else to get her back, because she had the bracelet on, and she couldn't risk taking it off.

So Seiko waited, and waited, hoping desparately Ulquiorra would find her and take her when she did not show up, pacing around slowly.

All of the sudden, a crack appeared in midair before her, and a loud, unzippering noise filled the air around her, as a rift opened up. She jumped and gasped badly, before she realized what it was. Her heart raced. Seiko stared into it; it was complete, total darkness. The same kind of rift that Ulquoirra and the other Espada/arrancars used to travel between places.

Her loud intuition told her that this was how she would get into the dangai. Ulquiorra must have opened it, but she neither heard not saw him. So she stepped inside, trusting it would indeed take her to the dangai.

It did. After only a second, she opened her eyes, and saw Ulquiorra before her, amonst the rocky violet-tinted ground and craggy outcroppings on either side. The rift closed again behind her.

"You didn't know how to get back to the dangai?"

"No..." Seiko said, sheepishly, and nervously.

Uqluiorra stared at her, then after several moments, then spole.

"Nevermind. Come with me."

Seiko moved to follow him as his finger danced in the air, opening up another rift, this time, to Huaco Muendo.

Ulquiorra grabbed her wrist, before he stepped into it and darkness enveloped them both.

"Don't let go of my arm, or you will fall to your death." He explained/commanded. Seiko was sure not to let go. It was unnerving, to have an Espada holding on to her wrist. Such a powerful, cold being clasping _her _arm, and taking her to Sosuke Aizen, the creator of the arrancars and possessor of the Hogyoku.

_"Stolen by the midnight wind, my dreams have all been swept away_

_Wonder if they'll ever be found?..."_


	4. Sosuke Aizen

[Day 1 Inside Las Noches]

Seiko's heart beat with anticipation, upon preparing to meet face to face with Sosuke Aizen, once again, and awe at the huge grandness of the corridors that Ulquiorra now lead her down. She knew he was taking her to Aizen, but she had no idea what this place was. She never imagined such an elegant, domesticated, and huge, vast structure existed in Huaco Muendo.

The long vast hallways were swept clean. The walls and floor of the endlessly expanding passageways and cross sections were all in general, some shade of teal or blue. The ceiling arched high, high above of the bare, polished floors. The walls were far apart, making the never-ending series of hallways wide and expansive. It was like some sort of palace...inside of Huaco Muendo. This was where Sosuke Aizen lived.

Ulquiorra Schiffer, the 4th Espada, and his captive Seiko Kumori's footsteps echoed in the distance as they journeyed towards the man who had defected to the meno's side, the man who had an interest in Seiko's powers, whom Ulquiorra had picked up in the dangai. They passed a myriad of other branches that lead into different sections of the immence palace, more passageways and corridors.

They walked on, and on, until they reached one big, imposing set of teal doors that towered over Seiko.

_This...must be it. _

Ulquoirra had stopped before the entrance. The two massive doors slowly swung open before her, and Ulquiorra stood there with her at his side in the doorway.

Seiko looked up, before the large, elegant expansion of polished floor, after the doors had parted, & saw Sosuke Aizen, sitting on a throne high above, on a large white seat of authority atop the massive dais, pirsteen, magnificent, and domineering, along with the rest of the surrounding chamber.

Seiko noticed some other arrancars were present, seen by her fo the first time, as well as Yammy, the big, brute arrancar she had encountered once before, with Ulquiorra, his large, ugly figure towering off to the left. The other three arrancars that she had never seen before stared at her, gathered off around the general left side of the chamber.

By the crushing, immense spiritual pressure she ahd sensed the moment the doors had opened, they had to all be Espadas. All of their presences were fearsome.

As Ulquiorra lead Seiko into the room, she caught glimpes of their appearances. One had shoulder length blonde hair, his mask on one side of his face, and a trail of drool running down his chin, his cheeks speckled with tiny freckles, his irises violet. His mouth hung open dumbly, showcasing two white buck teeth out front, and he seemed to be staring blankly off into space, his shoulders slumped slightly, and a zanpakto with a purple hilt, strapped on his back in a matching sheeth.

Another had a blak bob cut and big purple eyes, with a string of three pink diamonds on his forehead. His mask was also on the side of his head, and he wore an arrancar uniform that had large, oversized sleeves hanging off of what Seiko assumed to be his hands underneath the white material. His face held an expression of disdain and irk when he looked at her, intimidatingly.

The third, the one that seemed the most formideable, (aside from Ulquiorra) was a well built, intense looking arrancar, with electric blue, gravity defying hair, and eyes were equally as vivid; on the corners were teal marks. His arrancar jacket hung open showing a wide scar that ran down his torso. And Seiko also noticed the vacancy where his left arm should be, the left sleeve ending at the shoulder in a ragged edge. He hadn't just gotten those injuries on his own. Seiko sensed the distant familiarity of his spiritual pressure. He was one of the arrancars that had showed up in Karakura town in the eveing night with five or six others whom Rangiku, Toshiro, Ichigo, Rukia, Ikakku, and Yumichika had all battled, and had been fighting Ichigo. Seiko thought she sensed...Ichigo's spiritual pressure emanating from the wounds that looked fresh on his torso. He must have a serious grudge against Ichigo...or perhaps it was just a coincidence?

The blue-haired Sexta Espada looked over at the girl entering the room with the Cuatro Espada, staring at her critically (uncaringly) for a second, then looking away again, as the others had.

Aizen met Seiko's eyes. Seiko stood there, before him, as he met her gaze. Ulquiorra had left her side, and she stood there in the center of the chamber, alone, suddenly feeling lost and intimidated. But she put up a strong front, keeping a steady appearance of calmness.

"Ah. Welcome. This is Las Noches. Our Palace." Sosuke Aizen greated her, a small smile on his face, his head in his hands as he sat casually in the white throne above them all. It appalled Seiko to be in the presense of such powerful beings as these Esapda. It emplemented almost a sense of fear and honor. She stood before Aizen and the arrancars present, inside the vast chamber that served as Aizen's throne room, feeling already a little lost. But she kept a strong front.

"Seiko Kumori. Is that correct?" Aizen asked.

"...Y-yes." She replied to him after a moment, hesitant. What would he he ask her to do? Was he going to make her demonstrate her powers before him, right now?

"Sorry to rush you, Seiko, but will you show me your power?" Seiko had been anticipating the obvious question that was the whole reason she was here for. She was extremetely uncertain. It was extremely dangerous to show this man just what her power could do. But did she have a choice? What if he threatened to kill her friends if she did not obey? She couldn't allow any of their lives to be lost because of her. That was why she had come here.

But even so, she did not want to reply, saying "yes", that she would show him her powers...and let him use them for whatever evil purpose he had in mind. She didn't know what she wanted to say. Why does he want this power that I have? What could he be planning...? But then, before Seiko could even compose a refusal, all of the strength in her suddenly seemed to drain out, and it felt like the world was spinning around her. She couldn't see straight, and faint blak edges closed in around her vision. It felt as if she were being crushed, and all she could do was say finally,

"Y-yes...", immediately greatly resenting herself for giving in to Aizen so easily. What had just happened? It was as if she were being controlled somehow, and it was something that she could not resist, or go up against. The power had been so potent...

Then Aizen looked to the Espada with the purple eyes, blak hair and oversized sleeves, and his gaze remained off of Seiko for the time being, relieving her momentarily of the stressing descision she was being forced to make.

"It seems there are certain people who would have much prefered if I had not brought you here. Isn't that right, Luppi?"

Seiko looked to the arrancar named Luppi, the one Aizen was adressing. He did looked ticked off, still. His violet eyes were like big grapes, and his hair cut had a bit of a feminine twist, amplified by the pink daimons tattooed on his forehead. Seiko wondered why/how the arrancar had such a girl appearance.

Luppi spoke glumly and resentfully. "Yes, of course I don't like it. Our entire battle has meant nothing. It was little more than a diversion so we could bring this _girl _here," he replied peevishly.

_It was all...just for me? _Aizen had sent those four arrancars to attack her friends...just so he could kidnap her amidst all the chaos, and ono one would notice her dissapearance until she was gone long afterwards...

"Frankly, it just makes me disgusted with her." Luppi said. Seiko's eyes hardened a bit, as the arrancar gazed at the floor with bitter resentment obvious in his expression.

Then, Aizen said, "It was shocking. I was surprised to see you beaten so severly." His eyes seemed to be taunting the arrancar.

Luppi looked up at Aizen, his eyes narrowing. Seiko could see that he was seething inside-Aizen was purposely provoking him.

Then Aizen took his head off his hand, leaning away from the back of his white throne.

"Oh, I know what we should do. Seiko, demonstrate the strength of your power for us. I want you to heal Grimmjow's left arm."

Seiko at first gaped, then remembered the Espada that was standing around with the vibrant blue hair and the wide scar on his torso-he was missing his left arm.

_Grimmjow, huh? _Seiko thought...She looked over to him slowly, seeing the wounds Ichigo must have gave him more closely.

Her gaze shot back to Luppi when an outbirst of angry protest escaped him

"Impossible! That's crazy Lord Aizan it can't be done!" Grimmjow? General Tousen turned his arm into ashes! How is she going to heal something that doesn't exist? She's not a god!"

Seiko looked back to Aizen, recovering from Luppi's irate reply after a few beats.

"...What if I refuse?" She asked.

Aizen looked surprised, then Seiko watched his eyes narrow.

"Well then," Aizen's expression softened decievingly. "I suppose I would be forced to punish you," he replied to her. Aizen's trace of a smile seemed to grow just a bit. "And I don't want to have to do that, Seiko." His gaze communicated implied threats, and pressured Seiko. She stared into his face...and decided that she'd be better to go along with it, for now. She didn't have much of a choice.

Seiko walked up to the arrancar called Grimmjow, with the vibrant blue eyes and hair and open jacket, and brought her golden barrier over his left side, where his left arm was missing.

"Soten-Kishun. I reject."

She started to restore his arm slowly, while the Espada looked down, watching her. Then she glanced back at Luppi, who turned back to her, thrashing his arm out furiously.

"Hey! Are you listening, girl? If your putting on an act in a pathetic attempt to save yourself, you might as well stop it. Should I see proof you havnt any power," Luppi ranted loudly, as Grimmjow's arm began re-materializing visible, bits and pieces of flesh and bone appearing, stitching themselves back together under the amber glow of her shield, "then there's no reason to keep someone like you ..."

Luppi trailed off, as he saw Grimmjow's new left arm, 'impossibly' restored, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. "alive..."

Grimmjow raised his restored limb up in fron tof his face, examining it with a critical eye, while Luppi gaped with utter denial and disbelief.

"Wha-how? This is beyond the point of healing! What sorcery is this? What did you do, girl?" he shouted frantically.

"Don't you understand?" Aizen chided him. "Ulquiorra thinks it's temporal or spacial regression. Both are interesting theories."

Seiko looked at Ulquiorra upon the mention of him.

"Yes." Ulquiorra replied to Aizen.

"It can't be! No human could have suck advanced powers! It's completely impossible!"

Aizen continued to speak on, ignoring Luppi's persistant incredulity. "It is neither one, temporal or spacial. It rejects all forms of phenomenon. Her power limits, rejects, and negates what has happened to an object. She has full power to return things to the state they existed in before events changed them. It _exceeds _temporal or spacial regression. Effortlessly, it overcomes the limits of all established phenomenon. It knows no borders or boundaries. In fact, it oversteps the limitations set by gods."

Seiko gaped. It surprised her, and _scared _her, that Aizen already knew so much about her powers. She knew he was going to use them somehow for his plans. Surrounded by arrancars that could kill her in one blow, she could either cooporate without fighting, or she could be forced to reveal her powers. Either way, she couldn't refuse. It made more sense to go along with it, although she resented it. Was there really a point?

Grimmjow flexed his new arm once more, looking at it. He'd sort of missed it...That girl was pretty handy afterall. Grimmjow turned to the blonde newby (human) who was responsible for restoring his limp, the one Aizen'd brought here for something important.

"Hey girl. Come heal one more thing." he called to her.

Seiko looked over to Grimmjow, flitting a glance up at Aizen, then walking hesitantly over to the Espada once again. She brought up the small dome of golden light again over the burn-scar on his back, next to his hollow hole. The scorched, marred skin gradually dissapeared in a few seconds, and as it did, a number 6 was revealed beneath, etched into his skin. Seiko sucked in a breath of discovery. _He's...the 6th Espada? _Ichigo had battled with the Sixth Espada two times...and he'd given Grimmjow that scar. She knew because she could sense the familiar trace of spiritual pressure in the old wound.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Grimmjow?" Luppi asked, suddenly taken on a deathly tone in his voice, which caused Seiko to look back at the other arrancar. She let down her barrier again, Grimmjow's scar gone; healed. She didn't want to get in the middle of them.

Grimmjow had a big, wicked smile on his face, his eyes bright with smug triumph. He turned to Luppi. Then, in an abrupt flash, dissappeared and reappered in front of him. His hand embeded into Luppi's torso, forcing blood out onto the polished floor behind him. Seiko gave an involuntary gasp, staring in shock, while Luppi made sounds of choked pain.

"Grimmjow...you b******..."

"Your days are done!" Grimmjow said. "Goodbye, Mister... ex-number six!" The blue-haired rogue yelled gleefully. He hurled a cackling crimson ball of bright energy at Luppi with his right hand, the one that was not lodged in the arrancar's chest.

The flash of red light was blinding and defeaning, for the instant that it lasted. When the scarlet light was gone, Luppi's white uniform drifted down to the ground, ashes falling around it. Seiko gaped, staring at what Grimmjow had just done. The insane, blue-haired Espada laughed histerically.

"My power's back!" He spread his fists, head thrown back. "The sixth Espada is Grimmjow again!" His victorious display of behavior was almost psychotic. Seiko realized that Grimmjow had just killed his rival-the one who had somehow stolen his title. So now he'd regained his status, as the original sixth Espada, by eliminating Luppi. The members of the Espada...killed each other for ranks. It was...animal.

_His laughter...is...mad._ Seiko watched Grimmjow in faint horror. The other Espada in the room, as Seiko glanced around to see their reaction, stared at the histerical Grimmjow as well. But Ulquiorra just shut his eyes indifferently, and Yammy gazed at the madly cackling Espada with a faint sneer.

"Monster..." Seiko breathed, unable to take her eyes off of the cackling Sexta Espada, consumed by her horror and astonishment.

Grimmjow's laughter halted abruptly.

"Huh?" he grunted, and looked towards Seiko. Then Grimmjow's big smile was slowly transforming into a frown.

"What was that?" he asked, and started walking towards her. Seiko looked at him, tensing. She hadn't really thought he would hear her through his crazed laughter. A fear seized her, but she ignored it. His intense blue eyes cut into her own fiercely.

Grimmjow stared down at her, using his height to tower over her slightly.

"Are you trying to mess with me?" He snorted. "You've got some nerve, girl." He knew he couldn't lay a hand on the girl, but was still pissed. She needed to be taught a lesson. The twit was just asking for it. But he couldn't do anything. It didn't matter...

Ulquoirra eyed Grimmjow, but trusting Aizen to intervene if the Espada layed hands on the girl with intention of violence.

Grimmjow snorted. Seiko refused to let herself be intimidated by the Espada. He couldn't kill her if Aizen wanted her alive...Atleast for now, she was safe.

Grimmjow turned and walked away from the girl again, backing off only because he was in Aizen's presence.

"You should keep your mouth shut. Or you'll regret it." He said. He lept up to the corner of the huge, tall block that Aizen's throne sat atop, back to Aizen, one knew up, smirking nastily down at her. He got his arm and his title back, after all. Why let that little suck-up spoil it?

Aizen watched Grimmjow, an amused expression on his face. The blue-haired antagonist (Sexta Espada) looked down at Seiko.

"Anyway, thanks for the favor, girl. I _owe_ you one." He said, smirking nastily down at her, his eyes leering at her condescendingly.

Seiko stared at him, but then looked down at Luppi's uniform that lay crumpled on the ground. He was _gone. _Comepletely obliberated by Grimmjow. Was this her fault, for healing his arm? And why would Aizen just watch, as one of his Espada killed the other? It was apalling.

Aizen looked to Ulquiorra then.

"Alright then. Ulquiorra, you can show Seiko to her new room now." He said.

"Yes, sir." Ulquiorra replied. He turned to head out, with Seiko following him.

"Come with me." he said. She followed the Espada out, taking one last glance back at Grimmjow, and then Aizen, before the doors clsoed behind them.

He lead her away, through the twists and turns of the long corridors of Los Noches, in a different part then when Seiko had first come. The walls and floors were lighter, and the archetecture was different. They walked down endless hallways, until they reached one in particular. Ulquiorra lead her down the laveder walled and ceilinged hallway, lit up above by high-set wall sconces, shining soft, faint light down on the polished tile floor.

Ulquiorra stopped in front of the large set of lavender doors that were down in the corridor. He pushed one open.

"Here." He said, standing by the open door, in front of it, promting Seiko to go in.

The room was austere, and dark, the only source of illumination a shaft of moonlight from the cresent-moon up in the night sky of Hueco Muendo. The walls around her seemed to be a dark teal, and the floor was the same color, smooth and polished, as they were everywhere. And in the center of the room was a dark navy rug, a plain square across the floor, under a lone, oversized blue-ish teal couch, with four plain square pillows on it.

"This is where you will be staying from now on." he said. "I will be the one looking after you." Seiko looked back at Ulquiorra, when he said that. He stared briefly at the girl's face in the moonlight-her eyes swam with uncertainty-Yet her strength and will seemed to outweigh those distant fears. It continued to weigh heavily (shockingly) on Seiko that she was really _here_, inside Las Noches, in Hueco Mundo, and in Aizen's clutches now...

"You are only to behave..." Ulquiorra said, turning to leave her. "I'll be back later." He said, walking out, the door closing and locking shut behind him. Seiko stood in the darkness, shocked, and alone. What was she doing now?...

_"How can I decide what's right?_  
_When you're clouding up my mind_  
_I can't win your losing fight all the time_  
_Nor could I ever own what's mine_  
_When you're always taking sides..._

_How did we get here? "_


	5. Lost

_[Day 2 Inside Las Noches]_

_"Now that I'm losing hope_  
_And there's nothing else to show_  
_For all of the days that we spent_  
_Carried away from home _

_Some things I'll never know_  
_And I had to let them go_  
_I'm sitting all alone feeling empty"_

Seiko sighed. The entire room around her was so bare, empty, and dark. Today was her second day trapped inside Las Noches.

The moonlight that shone down on her through the small barred opening above bathed her face in its soft gleam. There was a breeze coming in, she felt it whip the tips of her hair faintly, and brush against her cheeks. It was chilling. She realized, when she looked down, that she was still wearing the bracelet Ulquiorra had given her.

She went over and lay down on the couch. After laying there, in the silence, her eyes drifted shut, and she fell asleep, thinking of her friends, and everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. The events were so overwhelming that her mind had not yet fully accepted what had happened to her, and she was drained with exhaustion. She desparately hoped to wake up and find that it had all been a bad dream. But when she did awake, several hours later, her hopes were instantly dashed as she opened her eyes, and saw the dark teal walls around her, the shadows, and the moonlight coming in from the barred window above on the wall behind her.

It was still real. She was in Hueco Mundo, in Las Noches, Aizen's palace...

Seiko stood in beam of moonlight falling down through the open barred window high above on the far wall, looking up into the night sky mournfully, a gentle, imagined breeze brushing strands of her light blonde hair around faintly. The austere room was so dark and silent. She wished the Espada Ulquiorra would come in again.

Seiko's thoughts drifted off, into the distance, as she stared up at the metal bars separating the outside sky from inside the room fixatively. She had met Sosuke Aizen, here in this Palace...

_..."Ah. Welcome. This is Las Noches. Our Palace." _She remembered being brought before Aizen, him making her heal Grimmjow's left arm, and Grimmjow murdering the former Sexta Espada, Luppi, right in front of her eyes. And she remembered, Grimmjow's mad laughter...and Aizen's cool, calm brown eyes staring down at her...

Then her thoughts went back to the time Ulquiorra had first ordered her to come with him, as she was helplessly at his mercy, in the dangai..._"Now come with me, little girl." _Ulquiorra had said. _"Don't speak. Yes is all I want to hear. If you say anything other than that,_ _people will die__..."_

He had said: _"I don't mean you-I'm talking about those who are closest to you."_

She had chosen to be here, so that her friends would not be killed. Aizen wanted her powers. So he had taken her for himself, and said that if she did not come, her friends would die. She had no other path but the path of betrayal. Now, this was where she would be when the war started.

_"This is not a negotiation. It's an order. For some reason, Lord Aizan has decided he wants your power. He dispatched me here with orders to bring you back unharmed. _

_I'll only say it one more time-_

_Come with me, little girl."_

Seiko closed her eyes, gripped her arm with the other, across her torso, digging her nails tightly into her arm.

_Why me? _She thought desparately, looking up at the crescent moon beyond the solemn bars above.

_Why...me? Why does Aizen want _**_me?_**

She didn't know the answer, at all. She didn't know anything. She didn't know what to do.

_"It's over. You have no means to fight anymore. The sun has set; the day is ours." _

And she had lost, her everything. Her life. And her liberties. It was all gone...She was shocked, and afraid, but her fear, she backed with determination. Determination not to give in to Aizen without a fight.

Seiko stared out into the sky, lost and confused, and alone. She longed for the daylight again, which had not come, despite all the time that had past, there was not even the least sign of daylight. It never came. Only the darkness, vaipd clowds drifting across the expanse of the neverending night, the crescent moon hanging up above, shining its light down gracoiusly into the dark room, that would soon become her world.

As she watched a cloud slowly drift across the moon, blocking out its light temperarily and shrouding her in shadowy darkness, she wondered why there was no daylight. Was it just here, in this palace, that it seemed to be that way, or was it the same all throughout the desert land of Hueco Mundo? There could only be no daylight if there was no sun...And if there was no sun...how could the moon shine? If the mooon shone because it reflected the sun's light...then could could this be?

* * *

Ulquiorra came in later, as Seiko had distantly hoped the Espada would. But he had come in while she was on the floor, leaning against the far end of the couch, out of sight of the doorway. Before Seiko could get up so he could adress her, Ulquiorra spoke.

"Where are you?" Ulquiorra said, his eyes scaling the room, knowing that she had to be there ...He walked in and Seiko hurredly got up, so the Espada could see her. Ulquoirra stared at her, after she revealed herself. Then he asked,

"Why were you hiding behind the couch?"

"I-I wasn't..." Seiko replied, her heart beginning to race.

Ulquiorra stared at her for a few moments, and Seiko averted her eyes from the his, unable to meet the Espada's peircing gaze. After a few moments, he seemed to decide to drop the matter, looking away, and adressing a new subject to her, the thing he had come here solely to do.

"Are you hungry?" Ulquoirra asked, after he'd stopped halfway across the room, behind her.

Seiko looked back up at the moon. "No.." She answered, refusing. She felt she was obligated to make Aizen's plans as difficult as possible by defying in every way she could, to spurn Aizen's efforts on her, because she was loyal to her friends, and only her friends.

Ulquiorra detected the note of defiance in the girl's refusal, but he made no effort to correct her, for now. "Fine." Ulquiorra replied. He did not bother telling her that she would have to eat eventually, or he would force her to.

Seiko stared at the Espada. Ulquoirra noted her fixed gaze, and met it. The question that had been on her mind earlier surfaced once again, and Seiko wanted to ask it now.

"U-Ulquiorra... How can the moon shine here in Hueco Mundo?" Seiko asked. "Does Huaco Muendo have a sun?"

"No, it does not." Ulquiorra replied, amused by the girl's question. He let her continue.

Seiko puzzled over his answer. "But...if there's no sun, then how can the moon shine, if the moon shines by reflecting the light of the sun...?" As Seiko finished the question, and Ulquiorra just stood there, silent, she suddenly felt as if her question were completely foolish and unnessessary. But then he answered her, after a short moment.

"What you see is the other side of the moon in the human world." Ulquiorra answered.

Seiko took a moment to digest his words, and then she looked up in awe, staring at the white crescent hanging in the dark sky, as the realization struck her. She turned to look back at Ulquiorra again.

"So the moon here, and the moon there- they're the same?" Seiko asked. She was suddenly, faintly surprised, when, as she stood looking at Ulquiorra, she noticed how the Espada looked so fearsome, yet foreignly handsome in the soft shadows of the moonlight and the light coming in from the corridor through the open doorway behind them, with his white skin, raven blak hair, and peircing green eyes under heavy black eyebrows, staring at her unfeelingly.

"Yes." Ulquiorra replied.

Somehow, knowing this gave Seiko some measure of comfort. To look up at the moon now, and know that the same moon was shining down back in her world, was comforting, in a way. And it was her only connnection she had to her former life. And knowing this fact was something for her to hold on to, one last thing to keep that past from dissappearing.

It was the exact same moon that she remembered looking up at, as her heart sank low inside of her, lying on that bench beside the shimmering river, not wanting to think about how much she would miss just having it to look up at at night, just before she was taken away to this desolate land.

Seiko watched Ulquiorra stand there for a moment, then turn to go, walking towards the doorway. But he glanced back at her, and Seiko felt something jolt within her, taken aback, as her silver eyes met with the Espada's cold green ones for a brief moment, before he looked back again and rounded the corner, the door swinging shut behind him.

___"Tell me where our time went_  
_And if it was time well spent_  
_Just don't let me fall asleep feeling empty again_  
_Cause I fear I might break and I fear I can't take it_  
_Tonight I'll lie awake feeling empty"_


	6. Fate

[Day 3 Inside Las Noches]

_"I try not to think of what might happen_  
_When reality, it finally cuts through..._

_I cannot accept this world but it looks like rejecting it __only makes my anger rebound._  
_But I will wake up one day, if this is all a bad dream, and even if it's not well I know I'm not dead."_

Seiko sat on the floor up against the couch, in her room, hugging her knees. She felt so lonely, and empty inside. Not only was there nothing to do except think constantly about what her friends might be doing right now, or what the other Espada were doing, or what Aizen was up to, but she was also confined inside this dark prison endlessly, rarely let out beyond the bathroom.

She had not let herself go to sleep at all, since the previous night, after she had learned that Hueco Mundo's moon was the human world's moon, on it's opposite phase...The two worlds, the hollow world, and the human world, opposites in every way, shared the same moon. It seemed ironic to her.

Her eyes burned subtly, and her limbs were weary, but she didn't care. The lonliness wrapped around her; surrounded her, and smothered her in a blanket of loss and sorrow that she had no escape or rescue from. She couldn't shake the grief that pressed down on her from all sides-she was no longer of any use to her friends locked up inside here, far way from them, and she most likely would never see her old life or any of the faces in it again. She had become someone else now, someone she had never dreamed she'd have to be to protect her friends. There was nothing she could do. Her liberties and life had met their end as soon as Ulquiorra had told her that people would die if she refused to come with him here to Hueco Mundo, to Aizen.

She felt like cursing her powers, because they were the very thing that Aizen wanted, that had caused all of this to happen to her. But before this point, they had saved and helped a lot of people, and because of that, she could not entirely regret their existance. This was the first, and only time that something truly bad had come of possessing this ability. The only one really to blame for this was Aizen, she knew.

About ten minutes later, Seiko heard the door open, and stood up, expecting to see Ulquiorra there. He was. She watched him come in slowly, looking at her, while she wondered what he was here for.

Ulquiorra had been sent to make sure the girl was still in good mental condition, and physical condition, for that matter. Since it was his duty to over see her and make sure that she stayed alive, he was obligated to do so.

"I just came to check up on you." He said dully, staring at Seiko's face, and seeing that her eyes were faintly bloodshot, and had light bags under them. He also noticed her face seemed slightly paler. It looked as if the girl had not slept very much.

Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed at the weary-worn girl.

"Are you sleeping?" He inquired curiously.

"Yes..." Seiko lied.

"Then why do you look so tired?" He questioned. She stayed silent, keying to the fourth Espada that she hadn't told him the truth.

"Why havn't you been getting your rest?" Ulquiorra asked, after the brief moment of silence.

"I-don't know. I just havn't, I guess..." Seiko said, trailing off and looking away from the Espada. Ulquoirra took a few steps foward, persistant.

"Are you doing it on purpose?" He asked accusingly. Seiko looked down at the floor, avoiding his gaze, not knowing what else to do. Ulquiorra sensed her guilt, which confirmed it.

"Why?" Ulquiorra demanded.

Seiko only looked at the wall to her side, refusing to meet Ulquiorra's demanding gaze.

"What could you have to gain by purposely depriving yourself of sleep?" He inquired.

"You're only hurting yourself, no one else." Ulquiorra said, when she deliberately kept silent. She still did not look at him. her limbs felt tired, and her mind didn't work as fast as it did when she got sleep. But it didn't matter to her.

Ulquiorra turned to the side, looking away from the defiant girl.

"Lord Aizen will not have you collapsing from exhaustion due to your refusal to take care of yourself. You are not to invonvenience him in such a way." He said, walking foward to stand in front of her. Seiko looked up at his stern face.

"Do you understand?" He asked.

"Yes." She said.

"Then don't let me catch you looking like that again." Ulquiorra said, turning to leave, still looking at her. "Is that clear?"

"Yes." Ulquoirra stared at her for a moment.

"Good." He turned and left, the door closing and shutting out the light from the hallway, and Seiko was alone once again.

_"Now all my friends gone_  
_Maybe we've outgrown all the things that we once loved_  
_Run away_  
_But what are we running from?_

_Identities assume us_  
_I looked up and saw you_  
_I know that you saw me_  
_We froze but for a moment_  
_In empathy.."_


	7. The Hogyoku

[Day 4 Inside Las Noches]

Ulquiorra came again, some time later, and told Seiko that Aizen wanted to see her. She didn't know how long it had been since he'd last come, because it was hard to keep track of time locked inside this room. The sky remained dark and the moon still shone as bright as ever, as if in constant night.

There were two other arrancars accompanying Ulquiorra this time, both females.

One of them had messy, cropped blonde hair, one green eye, and where her left eye would be, was her hollow mask, the socket an empty blak hole. She wore a V-necked uniform with short sleeves and a high collar, a thick white choker around her neck, and arm warmers.

The other girl had blak pig tailes, and bangs hanging down on one side of her face, and one violet eye, her hollow mask also where the other eye would be. She wore a scanty top and a white skirt that flayed out slightly, with blak thigh-high boots.

Ulquoirra, along with the two other mysterious girl arrancars, who lead Seiko through the halls of Las Noches. Seiko wondered why the other two were escorting her along with Ulquiorra, as if for special protection or something. They didn't look very happy.

The corridors they walked down weren't faimliar. They were different from the other passageways that lead to the place she had first been brought before Aizen here in Las Noches. Where were they going? Seiko didn't know the reason Aizen would want to see her now. Was he going to put her powers to use for him, so soon?

Her anticipation was increased by Ulquiorra, the Espada's presence. It made her nervous, inside, for reasons unknown to her.

Ulquiorra, and Seiko, with the two other female arrancsr in front of her, reached the large teal doors, and they were not the doors of the huge chamber that Aizen and the other Espada had been in previously. No, the walls here in this corrider were pale teal, and the doors before her, a deep blue.

Both of the girl arrancars on either side of Seiko stepped foward to grab each of the doors, and heaved them open. There, Seiko stood in the open doorway, with Ulquiorra by her side and the others stationed slightly behind her, arms folded behind their backs, as a respectful stance.-

-Before Aizen, who was sitting in a high-backed, round-ish white, grande throne this time, the lone seat there in the center of the balcony, with its back to the doorway. The smooth tile floors of the balcony were a deep shade of purple, and the only thing sealing off the platform from the blak sky broken by a few austere clouds hanging up in it, was a simple railing, a light teal shade, spread across behind Aizen's white throne, surrounding the open, simple balcony.

Although Seiko could not see him directly, she heard Aizen speak from behind the high back of the throne, which obscured him from her view.

"I'm glad you've come, Seiko."

Seiko watched him rise gracefully from the white throne.

"Sorry to call you here on such short notice," He said, then turning to face her, his eyes, always calm and domineering. "There's something very important that I'd like to show you."

Aizen cast a glance at the two arrancars behind Seiko, who'd come with Ulquiorra to take her to Aizen.

"Loli, Menoli, leave us." Aizan commanded, firm but soft.

"Huh?" The girl with the blak pigtails, and violet eyes said, with surprise, while the other blonde protesetd incredulously,

"But-sir! We can't leave you alone with someone like her!" Seiko tensed, as Aizen's expression held something that resembled annoyance. Ulquoirra silently stood by, not a part of the equation.

She watched Aizen glare severly at the two objective insubordinates, which caused them both to immediately drop to their knees, noses pressed to the floor.

"Excuse us sir!" They said anxoiusly, in unision. They both rose quickly and strode out fast, on either side of Ulquiorra.

"That girl. What is _up _with her!" She heard the blak-haired arrancar exlaim as she walked out, she watching them leave. Jelousy tinged the girl's attitude. Did they think she that she was important? Or somehow special, to be given so much attention by Aizen? She certainly didn't feel either of those. Seiko's gaze lingered breifly to Ulquoirra, who stood respectfully off to the side. Aizen's eyes went from Ulquiorra to Seiko for a moment, his subtle gaze deemed undetectable.

"Now then." Aizen said. Seiko looked back to Aizen, as he prompted her attention. She waited anxiously for whatever it was that Aizen was going to show her.

Aizen made a gesture to the tiled floor with one hand.

"This is what I wanted to show you, Seiko." He said, as a solid, skinny deep teal column rose up from the floor, upon his summons. Seiko's eyes widened, and she stared in shock at the strange sight, transfixed. Aizen reacehd toward the small pillar, and flicked the knuckle of his forefinger lightly against it.

Seiko watched, startled, as, upon the tap of Aizen's finger, the top of the cylander divided itself into several small circular platforms that slid out around the base like stairs, mezmerizingly.

Then, Seiko sensed the strange, immense, dangerous power emnating from...a small, glowing sphere encased in a thin glass cube, there in the center of the cylander, revealed after the 5 circular platforms splayed out around the hidden hollow.

_What-This sensation-could it really be? Is this the..._ the Hogyoku?

Aizen spoke, seeing the awed and shocked look on Seiko's face when she felt the large, fearsome power coming from the impossibly small object. You can sense it, can't you? You know that it's the Hogiyoku."

_The Hogyoku... _The thing that had created all of these arrancars, including Ulquiorra...and the others, the Espada that she'd encountered. _Why is he showing me this? _She wondered, incredulously...Seiko then remembered, watching Aizen ascend in the golden shaft of light, the _negacion_ of the Menos, up into Hueco Mundo, with the small object in his clutches...up on Sokyoku hill, after they'd rescued Rukia from her execution.

She recalled the formideable encounter, as she stared, transfixed by the tiny strings of abstract color and slight swirling around in the little sphere that had such dangerous power.

"But you may not know this." Aizen said. Seiko watched Aizen.

"It's sleep has been recently disrupted."

_...THat's right. The Hogyoku is still dormant...Otherwise the war would've already begun, with Aizen's forces assembled when the Hogyoku awakened..._

"It will awaken soon." Aizen said. "Without the Hogyoku, it is impossible to transform hollows into arrancars, or to create the Okin."

Aizen gazed serenely on Seiko, examining her, as she stood before him, in trepidation and awe.

"I have chosen to show this to you for one reason." She couldn't imagine this reason. So she looked at Aizen, studying his every move, as he gave her the reason:

"To prove that I trust you."

She stared at him, disbelief traced in the features of her face. _He...trusts me? _It couldn't be... that Aizen trusted her.

It didn't make sense..

"You have a phenomenal power." Aizen continued, walking leisurely to her, to stand over Seiko, in front of her. His sheer stature and influence over her was utterly unnerving, but Seiko tried to hide the unease and inward fear from her outward reactions, pushing down the things that might make Aizen doubt her.

She also continued to try to repress the apprehension she suddenly felt at Aizen standing so _close _to her. It was like standing too near to a fire. She knew, just Aizen's sheer power and manipulation, was burning her. He could play people like puppets, manipulated them into doing just as he wished.

"You can negate things that have happened and possess the ability to wipe out entire events. This is an incredible power…

A power that is very useful to me."

Seiko stared into Aizen's eyes, the eyes that held unknown depths of crime and treachery, coated over by the calm steadiness of his gaze. The calmness that swam around on the surface of the chesnut irises, concealing his true intentions with an inpenatrable screen. She could never understand this man.

"Seiko, you'll use your power for me, won't you?" He asked her, sounding so weet and light, but containing the undertone of twisted, complex plans and intentions, demanding her to help him with them. Seiko didn't understand what the Hogyoku had to do with her cooporation, or her powers. But she had to gain Aizen's trust...or retain the allusion that she had no will or power to defy him.

His eyes bore down into Seiko's, and she could not look away. Their sheer will seemed to crush her own will, pressuring her to submit entirely to _his _will. She knew that she couldn't stand up against such a powerful will as Aizen's. She couldn't resist him. It was like he was controlling her mind, forcing her into yielding to him.

What was it that he truly desired to achieve? _"I need to keep reaching higher" _Aizen's words, as he went up into the heavens, into the land of the hollows. Aizen could threaten to kill her friends again if she did not obey him. She couldn't ever bring herself to risk standing up to Aizen, and suffering such consequences.

"...Yes." Seiko replied, immediately feeling like a traitor.

She had just given Sosuke Aizen permission to use her powers for his purposes. Who was she?

Her gaze dropped to the floor. She knew she would do anything to keep Aizen from harming her friends. But what he wanted with her powers could never be for their benefit. It could only lead...to destruction. Yet what choice did she have, but to obey Aizen, under such circumstances? She was only a prisoner, helpless to resist Aizen's ultimate will.

"Very good." Aizan said, "I'm glad you've agreed to help me in my quest...to stand at the top." A small, grand smile spread across his face, as he stared down at her.

He dismissed her, adressing Ulquiorra.

"Ulquiorra, you may take Seiko away now." He said, his back now turned to her.

"Yes, sir." Ulquiorra bowed, glancing at the girl to promt her to follow him. Aizen watched Seiko leave, looking back at her over his shoulder, a triumphant smile on his face.

Uqluoirra lead Seiko out silently, she casting a glance back at Aizen, and the Hogyoku. Aizen smiled directly at her, his eyes peircing her composure. Seiko felt a heavy, crushing weight of betrayal and guilt fall upon her.

She followed Ulquiorra through the halls, back to the room Aizen had relegated her inside. She wondered...why Aizen wanted _her_. Why were_ her_ powers so important to him? Why did he want her...

She was so deeply immersed in her confused wondering, she did not pay attention to anything around her. She was barely even aware of the Espada leading her down the corridors of the palace.

Ulquiorra discreetly cast a glance at the girl out of the corner of his eye. She was walking to close to him. Her shoulder brushed against his own several times. The girl was practically clinging to him. He was about to tell her to mind her own space, when he realized with mild skeptism, that the girl was just staring with a lost, defocused gaze, seeming to be immersed in another world entirely.

He found that it surprisingly didn't arise his annoyance, and he ignored the girl's dense obliviousness indifferently. He let her brush up harder against him, making her fall back a pace, jolting her temporarily out of her daze. When she looked up at him with confused, startled eyes, he looked at the girl intimidatingly, before looking away again, relieving her of the embarrassment.

They reached the long hallway down which Seiko's quarters were. She didn't realize which corridor they were in, not even looking up from the polished floor beneath them. Ulquoirra stopped in front of the large lavender doors. Seiko, not watching Ulquoirra's steps, ran smack into him, taken completely off guard, and was knocked to the ground by the force.

Ulquoirra made a noise of surprise, while Seiko grunted in startlement and pain as she hit the floor, shocked. Ulquoirra glanced down at the girl, who was now on the floor. Seiko pulled herself up to her elbows, hiding her face, cheeks flushed with discomposure.

"I'm-sorry." She said.

"You need to more attention to where you are walking." He said.

Ulquiorra indifferently held out his hand for Seiko to take. She looked up at Ulquiorra in surprise, and apphrehension. Then she tentatively took his hand; tensing again at the feel of the Espada's cold, pale hand grasping hers, as she got up.

Ulquiorra lead Seiko into her room, and after a moment, turned, to leave her.

"Goodbye." He said, his hand on the door, about to shut her back in the lonely room.

"When...will you be back?" Seiko asked..

Ulquoirra looked back at her.

"...Soon." He answered, and left, shutting the door on her. Seiko let out a slow breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. How could she act like such an idiot...

She did not understand why Aizen had just chosen to show her the Hogyoku. But she felt now as if she had officially become a part of his plan, and her powers must have something to do with the Hogqyoku. But what? She did not understand.

Seiko wondered, as she walked over and sat on the couch in her prison cell, what her friends were doing right now...Where they looking for her? Were they worried about her?

She sighed. What was the point in worrying about them, if there was nothing she could do? She was gone, now.


	8. One of Us

PART 1,

One of Us

[Day 5 Inside Las Noches]

_"Wait, I'm not listening to you now_  
_I wasn't listening to you then_  
_I know that nothing will be the same again _

_I don't know how much of me you expect standing here right now_  
_I beg for you to let go_  
_I dread the day you finally do"_

Seiko heard the door click behind her. She turned to watch Ulquiorra come in, her heart speeding up, while she stood underneath the shaft of moonlight pouring in from the window above, which seh had been staring out a moment before.

She saw a bundle of white clothing and a pair of sandles in Ulquiorra's arms. It looked like a uniform...

Ulquiorra walked in, and spoke.

"Lord Aizen wishes you to wear this." he said, indicating the items he was holding.

Seiko stood there dreadingly, staring at it. She really wanted to say _'make me'_ but since it was a direct order from Aizen...she would be best not to defy him.

Evidently Ulquiorra expected her to reply to him, because when Seiko just stood there, unresponsive (with a resistant look on her face), he took her silence for defiance.

"If you don't willingly obligue, I was instructed use force...So I suggest you don these clothes of your own accord, if you don't want me constraining you and putting it on your body myself_._" Ulquiorra knew full well this girl could be very stubborn. Which was why he said this, to ensure her compliance.

Seiko looked away, cheeks flushed with Ulquiorra's indelicate threat. She could not put it past Aizen that he would order Ulquoirra to force her to change into the uniform. She couldn't expect much less from him. She did not want to have to go through that kind of degrading. Once again, she was forced into obediance.

Ulquiorra saw that Seiko seemed to have decided not to defy him, or Aizen, so he stooped down and left the clothes on the polished floor, and rose, turning his back to leave, still looking back at her.

"I'll be back in a while." He said, and shut the door behind him, leaving her alone to change into the new uniform.

Seiko stared at the pile of clothing, then sighed.

She found the uniform consisted of a dress, a strapless top, with a vertical black strip of firm material going down to meet a black line that went horizontally across the chest, and going up to connect the top to a thick black choker, that opened and snapped closed. At the waist there was a thick black band, and below the middle of it, the material was cut into the shape of a diamond, trimmed with black, and split at the bottom where the two ends of the shape would meet to form the fourth point, the fabric hanging straight down, separated to create a gap, in which the white flowing skirt similar to the pants Ulquiorra wore, would fill. In the back of the semi-dress, at the top a sort of cape started, hanging down over the back of the uniform.

Aside from the flowing skirt and sleevless semi-dress, there was also two long white gloves, trimmed in black at the place where they would go over her hand; the area of material designed in a v-shape, the slanted sides meeting in the center, wehre there was a small hole for the middle finger at the tip. And there were the sandals, in the same style as Ulquiorra', and assumingly all of the other arrancars in Las Noches-Seiko hadn't taken any particular notice to what they were wearing on their feet-, and a pair of thigh-high black socks.

Seiko dreadingly began to change into the new uniform Aizen had ordered she wear.

In the end, the dress fit her torso snuggly, like a corset top, and the flowing skirt beneath showed where the bottom front of the dress split at the end of the diamond, were not uncomfortable. She slid on the black socks and put on the sandals after. Last, she slid the long white gloves on her arms. They rose all the way up to the margin between the blak line across her chest, and the top of the dress.

She stood to smooth it all out, squirming in the unfamliar outfit. Then, after settling into the clothes, she finally dropped onto the couch, and stared blankly off into space...dispirited and saddened.

Then she got up after a short while, to stand back in the moonlight again. There were some clouds in the sky, she noticed. The moon was still a white shining crecent, beyond the three bars. The air was cool against her bare shoulders.

She felt as if she'd traded away the remaining of her liberties by doning this uniform. She had no rights, anymore. She was just Aizen's tool.

She stood staring out at the unfamiliar sky of Hueco Mundo. Her other clothes lay in a folded pile on the floor, beside the large, teal oversized sofa. This was her _life_ now. She didn't understand why she was here. Or what Aizen wanted so badly with her powers. But whatever it was, she knew there was nothing she could do to stop him.

She could never accept this fate, but she knew she couldn't reject it either. Seiko found that she was slowly loosing her will to fight against Aizen and these arrancars. She knew she couldn't ever hope to defeat him. So why did she continue to defy him, even though she was powerless to stop him? It seemed only out of self rightiousness, and fading loyalty to her friends. Seiko knew it didn't even make a difference whether she defied Aizen or not...He would do what he pleased with her, no matter what she did. But still, she resisted anyway, knowing full well it was fruitless, but hoping somewhere deep inside that maybe...just maybe it wasn't.

There was nothing else she could do, but blindly hope that somehow she could be set free, and live to see another day in the World of the Living, and her friends... Blindly hope that somehow her fate would change, that she could go back to the way things were...But that was chasing wind. She could never go back. She was Aizen's tool now, a helpless prisoner inside Las Noches. Who would save her now?

Seiko jumped when she heard Ulquiorra speak from the doorway. She'd been so lost in her thoughts, staring up through the barred window above in a disconsolate trance, that she'd neither heard the door clicking open, or seen the light from the hallway casting it's gleem into the room.

"That outfit unexpectedly suits you." He said. Seiko turned her head immediately to look back at Ulquoirra, confused and taken aback by his sudden, unnoticed entrance.

"Huh?-" Seiko said, but then got over her initial shock, gazing at the fourth Espada. She marveled at his face...So devoid of emotion, his eyes staring into hers unfeelingly, with a calm force that demanded her respect. The bright green colored eyes he had stood out to Seiko the most, contrasting starkly with his pitch black hair, their striking color spilling out onto his cheeks, streaming down in a fine line, as if the color were unable to be contained within his irises.

"Unnexpectedly?.." Seiko said inquiringly, when she processed what Ulquiorra had said. She didn't understand what Ulquiorra could possibly mean by it-Why should he care whether the uniform fitted her well or not, or whether she looked decent in it?

"...Nevermind." Ulquiorra said uncaringly, looking away from the sight of the girl standing in shaft of light shining down from the barred window above.

Seiko stared down at the new uniform she now wore, that matched his. Somehow, she felt distantly soothed by Ulquiorra's presence. It was like a small relief inside of her. It always felt that way when he was around. But Seiko just credited it to the dark solitude she was now in.

"I have some news." Ulquiorra said to Seiko, looking at her again.

Seiko's eyebrow's furrowed...News? What could have changed since he'd left her to put on this uniform? She wondered.

Ulquiorra stared into Seiko's eyes, and said,

"You're friends have entered Hueco Mundo." Seiko's eyes widened, her pulse quickening.

"Huh? Why?" Seiko asked incredulously, barely believing what she was hearing. Several questions entered her mind at once. How had they known what had happened to her? And how had they gotten into Hueco Mundo? The only way that her friends could've found out where she'd gone was if the two soul reapers Ulquiorra had struck down -and she'd healed with her powers- went back to the Soul Society and reported what had happened.

"Why, you ask?" Ulquiorra inquired in return. "They have come to save you." He said. "Why else would they choose to come here? They have no other reasons."

Seiko, her eyes wide, stared at Ulquiorra in utter disbelief. Was...it really true? Had they actually figured out what had happaned to her, and come after her, in hopes of saving her? Seiko wasn't sure if she should so readily believe what Ulquoirra was saying. She had never wanted to die here, but she had come here so Aizen would spare the lives of her friends. And now, Ulquiorra was telling her that her friends had come here, risking their lives to save her...Undoing the sacrifice she had made. If they were killed, what she had done would mean nothing. How could she want that?

But deep inside, Seiko somehow felt happy. Happy that they had come after her...

"But that-No longer has any meaning for you." Ulquiorra continued.

Seiko turned back, to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise and confusion. How could all of this not mean anything to her?

"By wearing these clothes, you are no longer the person you once used to be."

Seiko's gaze flickered. She knew there was truth in the Espada's words. But she still had a sliver of tiny hope inside of her...if her friends had come to save her-if they could succeed, somehow, against all odds, then she would make it out of here, and live to return to her old life again, and live to see another day in the world of the living. Right now, that was all she could hope for.

She listened to Ulquoirra tell her the truth, the truth that she could never accept.

"You are one of use now, in body, and in spirit."

One of them...? No, she wasn't. She could never be...

Seiko stared tensely into the Espada's eyes, so bottomeless and deep, gazing at her emotionlessly. Her own eyes narrowed in defiance. How could he say that? That she belonged with them...When she knew she was still loyal to her friends, who had now come here to save her from this place. He was saying that she shouldn't care. That her sole existance now was as Lord Aizen's servant, and nothing more. But she knew that it wasn't true. She still cared about her friends.

"That is reality, Seiko Kumori." Ulquoirra said, staring into Seiko's eyes, his gaze unfeeling, yet commanding.

No...she could never accept that as reality.

"I'll never be 'one of you'." Seiko said, gazing at him hardly.

"Do not try to deny it." Ulquiorra said, unphased by her glare.

Something in Ulquiorra's voice got under Seiko's skin, and a light chill came over her. She turned away, trying to brush it off. Just what about Ulquiorra that so unnerved her, she did not know. But she did know that this was ridiculous. Why were they trying to force her into willing submission like this? She already had no choice but to do whatever Aizen said, if she wanted her friends to live...Why go as far to say that she belonged here, that she was one of them? Because it wasn't true.

"Do not turn away from me, girl." Ulquoirra said, when she abruptly turned her back on him. He could sense her denial and reluctance. It would not do. Her submission was nessessary. He could not leave until he had broken her.

Seiko tensed, not wanting to obey him. She remained with her back to him for a moment, wondering distantly what he would do if she refused to obey him. But eventually she caved, and turned around, facing the fourth Espada once again with reluctant submission.

"Now tell me," Ulquoirra said coldy and firmly, "Who does your body and spirit belong to now? I want to hear you say it out loud."

Seiko could see that she wasn't being given a choice about this. But she could not honestly say that she belonged to Aizen, that she would serve him sincerely. She could never do that. But she had to lie, to satisfy him. It was the best option right now.

"They..." Seiko found she could not keep Ulquiorra's intense, studious gaze, and averted her eyes. "They belong to Aizen..." She said. Ulquiorra continued to stare at her, forcing her to continue. "And I am his servant." She finished, sealing the pact.

Even though she knew she didn't mean what she was saying, she still got this deep, gutting feeling of betrayal. She ignored it, pushing it away firmly. She had a small but hopeful ember still burning inside her, hidden. She was the only one aware of its presence. And it would keep burning, as long as she had the hope of her friends coming to save her. The question was...Was it a false hope? She wouldn't know until the end.

But what she did know, what that she _was not _one of them. She was not loyal to Aizen, and she never would be. She knew that to him, she was nothing. Her life wasn't important to him at all, despite his facade of kindness and generousity, she knew he only wanted her for her powers, nothing else. So long as she was useful, he would be 'on her side', and she would be forced to serve him, for the sake of her friends' lives which he held at liberty.

"_Lord _Aizen is what you are to adress him as. Is that clear?" Ulquoirra said.

Seiko looked at him, and cringed inwardly. "...Yes." She responded reluctantly. The fourth Espada stared into her eyes, searching for any sign of ingenuity. She hid all of it, leaving only what looked like complete and absolute submission for him so see.

"...Good." Ulquiorra replied. His gaze slid to her other clothes, that she'd taken off and replaced with the white arrancar uniform that she now wore. They were folded neately on the floor. He lifted one an index finger and pointed it at the pile.

"Wh-what are you doing?-" Seiko stuttered, puzzled, just as a small green ball of energy formed on the tip of the Espada's finger and blasted out in a small, precise explosion. Seiko let out a small sound of alarm, as the smoke cleared, and she saw a small scourch mark on the floor, where her clothes had just been. They had been competely disintigrated by the blast.

Ulquorra looked back to the astonished girl.

"You won't be needing those anymore." He said to her. Then he turned his back, and left, closing and securing the large lavender door behind him. Seiko just stood there, feeling lost. Her friends were her only hope now...Would they rescue her? Or die trying...

She felt like a traitor.

* * *

Ulquiorra paused in the hallway outside of Seiko's room, after he'd shut the door behind him. He contemplated the girl's reaction; her headstrong refusal to accept the true reality of her fate.

_"I'll never be 'one of you..." _He recalled her face, laced with stubborn denial.

_The girl has a fair amount of spirit in her. _The girl's denial...was not motivated by fear.

_She was not afraid of my question. She hesitated-no, resisted, would be a better word for it- out of defiance. The girl still feels obligated to resist us for her friend's sake. She's barely got any will of her_ own _left to defy us._

He started down the hall, the tails of his white uniform trailing gently off of the ground behidn him.

_Still, she's a strong, brave girl._

Ulquiorra ambulated down the lavender walled, generously lit hallway, thinking about his report to Lord Aizen on the girl's state of being, and her stubmission.

As he walked, Nnoitora revealed himself, standing leaning against the wall of one of the intervals that created an alcove on either side of the corridor.

"Heh-hey." The other, tall, lanky Espada said, as Ulquriora walked past him, a split second before realizing that Nnoitora was there, as the minute motion caught the corner of his eye.

"Tell me, " Nnoitora said, then turning to look at Ulquoirra, who had stopped walking. "How's our little _pet _doing today?"

Nnoitora had obviously been waiting for him to get out of Seiko's room, Ulquoirra noted. He turned his head back to look at the otehr Espada.

"Nnoitora..." He said. _How annoying. _Ulquoirra thought, the irritation notregistering on his usually expressionless face.

"I _know _that _Lord Aizen _decided to leave you in cahrge of that girl, Ulquoirra. How _wonderful_." His eyes narrowed, and he chuckled with a seedy grin on his face.

"Have you _disciplined _her yet?" He asked.

Ulquiorra stared hardly at the lesser Espada. He shut his eyes and turned away from Nnoitora.

"How revolting." He replied, with disdain.

To his startlement, and increased nerves, Nnoitora moved in fornt of him to block his way, slapping his hand on the wall.

"Dont get so touchy! I'm simply asking if things are going okay in there, that's all. Well?"

Ulquoirra loked up at the tall, skinny Espada, who was ranked lower than him.

"...You're curious?" He inquired. "Don't worry yourself over such trifling matters."

Nnoitora's narrow eyes widened a bit.

"Hmmm?" He said, taken by surprise.

"Actually, what I meant to say was that the girl was under Lord Aizen's spell, long before she came to Hueco Mundo." Ulquiorra walked around Nnoitora, so that he was not blocked anymore.

"His Kyoukasuigetsu, huh?"

Ulquoirra looked back at Nnoitora again.

"Of course not. There's no need to use it for something like this. He placed her in several psychological cages when he brought her here, which she won't escape from. He ordered her to surrender and made her unable to refuse by offering to spare her friends' lives. Aferwards, he gave her a 12-hour reprieve that allowed her to say goodbye to one of her friends, on the condition that no one else would see her."

"...And you call that a cage?" Nnoitora replied skeptically.

"By giving her a reprive, and allowing her to say goodbye to a friend in such a tense situation, she'll mistakingly believe that we've shown her some sympathy, and we are on her side, which will eventually weaken her will. But in truth, her friends' lives were not actually at risk at all during that 12-hour reprieve. Furthermore, even though she was forced to surrender, by allowing her to choose someone to say goodbye to, she'd get the idea that she'd done so by choice. And by making her return to the rendezvous before taking her to Hueco Mundo, he ensured that she bought into our plan completely. The idea that she chose us was etched even deeper into her mind, and gradually she will lose the will to run away. Even _you _can understand that."

"Huh?" Nnoitora said quickly, realizing his intelligance had just been insulted.

Ulquoirra stood, his side facing Nnoitora, hands in his pockets.

"The genius of the plan was that by allowing her to say goodbye to one, and only one person without anyone else knowing, means that she'd most likely leave evidence behind of saying goodbye to that person."

"So what?" Nnoitora asked. "If she left evidence behind with a friend, then we have completely failed."

"Quite the opposite. The evidence of having said goodbye becomes undeniable proof to our enemies that she was completely free to do whatever she wanted until the time she surrendered...In other words, the stronger the evidence was, the more her friends would be inclined to think that she willfully betrayedthem, and that she wasn't in fact taken against her will...Though, that last part wasn't a complete success. But it is safe to say that the Soul Soceity wasn't getting involved."

"...That sure was well thought out." Nnoitora said. "I guess that's to be expected when you consider it's Lord Aizen."

"What do you mean, 'well thought out'? Ulquoirra inquired. "This is a game of strategy to Lord Aizen. He would've had a solution whether she played into it or not."

He turned, ready to leave now, still looking back at Nnoitora.

"But in any case, right now that girl does nto have the strength to run away. She doesn't have the strength, or the will to resist us."

* * *

Ulquiorra had told Seiko that her friends were now in Hueco Mundo...they had come to rescue her. Seiko sat on the oversized couch, her head down, holding her wrist loosely with the other hand, her light hair cascading down on the side of her face.

She was shocked. The news had taken her completely, utterly off guard. The fact that her friends would come after her had never even occured to her. It made her resentful, and even angry, and...anxious and worried as well. She was angry that they were slapping her right in the face, putting their lives in danger because of her, after she'd so painfully, willingly agreed to surrender to Aizen and let Ulquiorra take her to Hueco Mundo, given her life away, so their lives would be spared.

She couldn't believe that they would come on this suicide mission-planning to break into Aizen's fortress, filled with powerful arrancars, including the Espada...It was crazy. She was desparate to be able to deny it, and see that Ulquiorra had been lying, just to see how she would react...but she knew it was true. Far, far away, there were five familiar presences, distant glimmers shining-five specks, that she thought she could feel, and those presences, she knew, were definately her friends.

Seiko stared up at the moon, standing under the glow it cast down into the austere room from the window, as she always did. The moon, the connection that she had to the world she had once lived in-the other side of this moon, of Hueco Mundo, was the moon of the World of the Living, her moon, that shone down in that world. But the friends that she had fought with ever since she'd gained this power that Aizen had found a purpose for- were not there any more. They were here, in Hueco Mundo...coming to rescue her. It did make her anxious, distressed, worried...and mad. But she thought about all the times when she had made a difference for her friends in all the wars and battles that they had fought together, and what there was for her to do now, that she was locked up inside here, helpless, and greatly in debt to them. What could she do, to replay them for their efforts to get her back, to make her imprisonement here _mean_ something?

And Seiko thought of the Hogyoku, the thing that had created these arrancars, that Aizen had shown to her, in order to prove his 'trust' in her to serve him... But that could not be the true reason that he had shown the Hogyoku to her-What reasons could he have to trust her? What had she ever down, since she'd been here, in Las Noches, or even before then, to make him believe that she was trustworthy? No...He hadn't shown the Hogyoku to her because he trusted her.

Then why? If he knew what her powers could do, and how they worked, didn't he know that she had the ability to destroy the Hogyoku? He must think that she had neither the will to defy him, or that she would never be able to or have the chance to pull off such a betrayal. Either way, she now knew where the location of the Hogyoku- inside that strange teal column, hidden inside beneath the five circular platform's that split apart and splayed out around the center...

It was true, that she could negate things that have happened, and wipe out entire events...Just as he had said. And that included...this Hogyoku. _She _had the power to destroy it. She, and she alone had the ability to-And that meant it was her duty, didn't it? If she was the only one that could do it-than it was her obligation, by default, if she truly was loyal to her friends. And she was.

And she would. Somehow, someway, she would destroy it, for her friends, for everyone. She could stop Aizen.

Could it be done?

_Seiko was walking the line between enemy and friend now, trapped in captivity inside Las Noches, as a servant to Lord Aizen, with her friends coming to rescue her...Swearing her loyalties to Aizen, but promising to break them, by making this descision to ultimately destroy the Hogyoku and overthrow him.

She felt like the uncertain, deceptive grey between the blak and white, with promised fidelity to both sides, but only one loyalty that rang true inside of her herat, and that was to her friend, despite this moral confusion and haze that shrouded her mind, because of her circumstances.

No-she was truly loyal to her friends; she knew it deep down, in her core, and she was secretely rooting for them to succeed in rescueing her. She was not entirely lost. She would betray _Aizen,_ not her friends, if and when it came down to a final showdown.

She could do this.

_And the battle's just begun_  
_There's many lost, but tell me who has won_  
_The trench is dug within our hearts_


	9. The Dagger

**"Batalla, Batalla" I again think is fitting. It's a good soundtrack song to fit in with the story ^_^ *Gin smile* **

PART 1,

Follow Up

[Day 5 Inside Las Noches]

Ulquiorra went to deliver his report to Lord Aizen, after encountering the 5th Espada Nnoitora in the hallway of Seiko's room. When he reached the two large teal doors, down the corridor, where Lord Aizen was, he spoke from outside the closed entrance. He knew Lord Aizen would already sense his presence outside.

"It's Ulquiorra, sir. Permission to enter?"

The doors slowly parted after a pause, and Ulquoirra walked onto the flat, sparse balcony, met by the sight of Lord Aizen, sitting on his white throne, the focus of the balcony, and Gin Ichimaru, standing beside the large seat, at Lord Aizen's side.

"Good evening, Ulquiorra." Aizen said, swiveling around to face the powerful arrancar. "What brings you here so late?"

ULquiorra looked at Gin, then at Aizen, wondering why the lavender-haired man was here. Aizen sat with one leg crossed over the other stylishly, his head in his hand, and an elegant smile on his face, in the large white seat on the balcony that spread out underneath them, and the dark night sky beyond.

"I'm assuming you told Seiko of the news. Is that right?"

"Yes, Lord Aizen. I came here for the report."

"Right." Aizen had given Ulqoirra permission to inform Seiko that her friends had come after her, to Hueco Mundo, trying to save her, but to ensure that she knew this would not change her position now. She was one of them now.

"Let's see how she reacted, then."

"Yes sir." Ulquiorra's pale index finger danced in the air, and he let Aizen and Gin watch Seiko's response for themselves, by accessing the information via his own eyes and ears, and transmitting them into a form viewable to others, which was what this was. He had used it to show Seiko her friends, battling the Espada in the world of the living, when he'd went to kidnapp her while she was on her way herself to come to their aid.

...

"Just as I expected." Aizen said.

_Yes, Seiko Kumori is no longer in a place that she can defy me. She has realized that there is no hope of escape for her. The friends she came here to protect, will die trying to save her. There is nothing more for her to do, but give up. She only belongs here now, in Las Noches, under _my _rule. _

Aizen felt he had to keep an eye on the girl, still. She wavered, and was unsure of her own path, though, either way she was loyal to him now. Aizen turned his attention to Ulquoirra..

"You have handled the girl very well, Ulquoirra. I know that I can rely on you."

"Thank you very much, sir." Ulquoirra said, bowing.

"I would like you to continue to update me on what the girl does...I find her behavior quite interesting." He trusted Ulquoirra's judment, on what was valuable information, and what was useless-it was basic common sense, for him. The fourth Espada was one of his most prized assets. He was completely reliable. That was why he had entrusted Seiko to Ulquoirra's care.

* * *

PART 2,

Fallen Prisoner

[Day 6 Inside Las Noches]

_"Well I'll figure this one out on my own_

_I'm screaming 'I love you so'_  
_My thoughts you can't decode"_

Seiko waited, and waited, for something to happen. Being trapped inside this one room, inside Las Noches, as a servant to Lord Aizen, was taking its heavy tole on her. Her loyalites, though she knew deep inside, what they were, and had decided that she would ultimately betray Aizen, doubt sunk in like a poison, spreading a thick smoke over everything, through which a dagger could be thrown, unseen until it peirced her flesh, ambushing everything she'd built up inside of her heart.

Seiko stood in the center of where the light from the moon fell from the barred window above, surrounded by darkness where it didn't. She wished that Ulquiorra would return. That strange, confusing deep, aching longing inside of her that remained unplaced, she felt. _(But today, it struck her, like a dagger unseen until it pierced her flesh, ambushing everything she'd built up inside of her heart.)_

...What was it about the Espada that seemed to get to her so? Seiko suddenly wondered. The feeling that had tormented her ever since the first time he had appeared in the World of the Living so suddenly, and had grown; like a thorn in her side, constantly stabbing her... Now, the pain had turned so sharp, it could force the breath out of her were it real. The feeling seemed to have intensified inside of her, unnoticed, until it had gotten this strong- strong enough to make Seiko notice it, and to wonder what it was-

She thought it over...Whenever she saw his face, so foreign, yet...That pastel skin, so smooth, cold, his eyes, icy green, their unfeeling gaze boring into her every time she looked at him, his raven blak hair, and half-helmet of a hollow mask atop his head, the white horn jutting out the side... And his voice, shattered her composure and slashed it up, a smooth, yet even, yet unfeeling, voice, that sank into her mind, penetrating her barriers; planting ideas and thoughts (and feelings) into her mind that should never be there..

Why did his gaze unnerve her so? Why, did everything the Espada did seem to shatter her nerves, and her will so easily these days? His demeanor, so cold, and indifferent- constantly tugged at something inside of Seiko persistant, and haunting...that she could not identify. Why? Seiko couldn't seem to figure out the complex puzzle...

The strange reason why her heart raced uneasily whenever she was in Ulquiorra's presence. She knew that it couldn't be because of fear...She was not afraid of him- in a sense that he was scary, but in a sense that he was powerful, and fearsome. And now, whenver she was in Ulquiorra's presence, it made her feel somehow relieved inside, though she knew for certain that he did not care about her life, nor the lives of any of her friends-to her, he simply had a duty to keep her alive, and take care of her. He was _hollow, _uncaring, empty... (this was the truth, wasn't it?)

*Yet still she somehow felt this way-Whatever this feeling was-

Why did the Espada seem to affect her so much, to make it hurt so much, whenever she was reminded that he was against her and her friends, on opposite sides of the war, an arrancar...Did she care for him? In the sense that she...

_**No.**_ How could that be? That _couldn't_ be. Seiko's heart panged, as the realization shot through her. No... It couldn't be true. She kept telling herself that over and over in her head, but it was no use. She realized that she had fallen for him, the cold hearted Espada...

"No...No...Ulquiorra..." Seiko breathed, in disbelief, deep dread and denial sinking into her as the blatant fact struck her hard, like a lightning bolt to her head, and she staggered back, in horror. Had she truly come to develope feelings for the Espada? Was that it? Did she..._love_ Ulquiorra?

Was it even possible?

That she had grown attached to an Espada, grown to love an arrancar, that would...kill her friends, and her, without a second thought upon Aizen's orders, serving loyally under Aizen...

She'd thought that should be _completely_ impossible. But that was the thing- it _should be_. But now, she figured that it couldn't be, because she had grown attached to him...

A fresh wave of shock and horror rushed over Seiko's mind, as she realized her own thoughts. What was she doing? Ulquiorra was an arrancar, an _Espada, _who had no remorse, or regrets; not an ounce of compassion, or any feeling existed inside of him-just cold, analytical, emptiness...How could she even _think _about having any sort of feeling like this towards him?

Her mind rejected everything about it, about the idea of falling for him...It couldn't be-it was _wrong_. It was something that she absolutely couldn't accept-but there wasn't any way she could possibly reject the plain truth of it. Seiko imagined how she might feel if Ulquiorra, the Fourth Espada serving under Aizen, were defeated...If...she were to watch him _die, _right in front of her...And the thought nearly doubled her over in horror and pain, and the fact that that thought had brought such a vibrant flash of pain in her mind, shocked her beyond measuring.

And Seiko could guess that as strong as this feeling she suddenly realized that she was feeling for Ulquiorra was, that there her beneath its weight. She felt like a prisoner to these feelings-a prisoner that her friends couldn't save. No one could save her from this...Not even herself. Seiko's fate had changed so suddenly from the girl that'd been rushing to fight with her friends against the arrancar in the World of the Living, to a prisoner of Lord Aizen inside Heuco Mundo, surrounded by the arrancar she'd been rushing to fight, and surrendering her rights, and promising her loyalty to them...And the one Espada that seemed to be the center of her broken down and twisted/shattered world, was the Espada _Ulquiorra. _She'd ended up being taken ofrom her entire life, and forced into this empty existance, inside this land of hollows-and fallen for one of the Espada, being molded into someone else entirely, yet still hoping that her friends could save her.

"No..." Seiko backed up, closing her eyes, her shoulders trembling, as the weight sank inside of her, crashing down on her, and crushing her. She backed up, until she was up against the door, hugging her frame tightly with her arms folded, and her hand halfway up to her face, her head down, as if she were trying to get away from herself-but that wasn't possible.

Seiko looked down at this uniform that she now wore, as the image of Ulquiorra's cold, unfeeling Espada face burning in her mind, as she tried to blink it away, to no avail. How could she have feelings for..._him_...

Would Ulquiorra ever find out? Would he even care? No-...He would never even know. How could she ever bare to tell him? And there was no point, because he wouldn't care, at all...

-While Seiko troubled over this new, overwhelmingly distressing fact, Ulquiorra walked down the pristeen corridor of the palace, going to check up on Seiko before he went for an update from Gin on the current location of the intruders within Las Noches. It was his duty to make sure that she was still behaving. As unpredictable as the girl was...

Ulquiorra reached Seiko's door, and opened it.

-Seiko, on the other side, gasped when the door she was leaning against suddenly opened out of the blue, ramming into her, and knocking her to the ground. She hadn't sensed anyone (Ulquiorra) coming-she'd been to wrapped up in her own dismay.

She yelped as the door hit her, and knocked her off of her feet. Ulquiorra made a sound of surprise, his eyes wide. He hadn't felt the girl's presence directly behind the door. What was the meaning of this? He had to be more careful.

Seiko looked up as soon as she had recovered, her eyes widening slightly, and a anxious blush creeping across her cheeks when she realized it was indeed Ulquiorra, her heart flipping ever-unsettlingly inside of her chest. She quickly averted her eyes, feeling a stab of pain that she was not used to at all. She quickly got up, just as Ulquiorra's hand started to pull out of his pocket, to help the girl to her feet. Her back hurt slightly from the fall/impact, but she didn't show it. Then Ulquiorra asked,

"What were you doing, leaning against the door like that?" He did not say that she should have sensed him coming, because it was as much his fault as it was hers, for not being more aware. Such a stupid mistake. It wouldn't happen again.

"I-um-" Seiko stuttered, her heart pounding in her chest, not knowing what to do. She stared at the ground, her eyes revealing a spark of angst.

"Are you injured?" Ulquiorra asked, examing her for any signs of minor injuries.

"N-no.." Seiko lied, her persistant, crushing nerves getting on to her, while she pressed them down harshly, trying to deny what she felt when she looked into the Espada's insensate, emerald eyes gazing on her. Ulquiorra could tell that the girl was lying. But it looked like the only thing that could have been hurt was her back, and she didn't seem to be in any significant pain. It wasn't serious. But he did notice a slight tremor in the girl's figure. She was trembling. What was the cause for this? She would not normally be so easily shaken, even after being taken surprise like that.

Ulquiorra stared at nothing in particular, his hands in his pockets.

"That was careless of me." He said, unfeelingly, not really apologizing, just stating his petty mistake.

"_Mnh_-" Seiko made a reluctant sound, but didn't know what to say. Ulquiorra looked her up and down again, still slightly curious as to why the girl seemed so edgy, but essentially, not caring anyway. He left, then, having already made sure everything was fine in her room.

Seiko watched the Espada leave, his gaze sliding back to her as he walked slowly out of sight, piercing her heart. The door closed, and she turned away from it, clenching her fist held up at her chest. Was this it? Was this who she was now? She could never become the old Seiko again...Not ever, that she had fallen for...one of the _Espada_, Ulquiorra. She didn't know who she was anymore. It was betrayal...that she was sure she could ever forgive herself for.

An enemy...had become...her _love. _How foolish of her. She couldn't bear it. Seiko was a solid prisoner of her own heart, held in a choke-hold of feeligns that should never exist inside of her. It wasn't possible. Yet it was. She had fallen for _him. _

_"Down to you_  
_You're pushing and pulling me down to you_  
_But I don't know what I_

_Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself_  
_From saying something that I should've never thought_  
_Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself_  
_From saying something that I should've never thought of you_

_Of you_  
_You're pushing and pulling me down to you_

_And now I know what I want, I want, I want_  
_Oh no, I've should have never thought!"_


	10. Captor

PART 1,

Captor

[Day 7 Inside Las Noches]

Seiko felt Chad fighting...his spiritual pressure had risen again a while ago, like it had when she had first begun to sense her friends in Hueco Mundo, and Uryu, Ichigo, and Chad's, Rukia's, and Renji's spiritual pressures rose-they had already encountered and started fighting hollows. They rose and fell as time went on, and she knew they were getting closer and closer.

She sensed Chad had come out of the battle triumpant, but then...only minutes later, she sensed another, much more powerful pressure appear next to Chad's. And then, Chad's spritual pressure suddenly dropped-dangerously low, like a dim, flickering light. She knew he was still alive, but he was now, so suddenly badly injured. That other spirutal pressure, crushing and intense, like that of the Espada, was immensely stronger than Chad could possibly have gone up against...many _times _more powerful.

_No..._It was frightening, deeply, to know how easily Chad had been defeated. Chad was so strong...Yet in one blow, he was struck down, again. These arrancars...were too dangerous! Why had her friends come here?

She sensed that other, very powerful spiritual pressure vanish from the viscinity around Chad's. The enemy had abandoned him, leaving him for dead.

But Seiko _knew _Chad, and how determined he was. She knew he had the will to live as strong as Ichigo's, and that Chad was one of the most stubborn people she knew. All of her friends were...And she regretted that deeply, now. She was worried-that they would all die here, trying to rescue her.

She continued to keep part of her concentration on Chad's dim -yet still alive- spiritual pressure, while dividing the other parts to her friends, sensing Ichigo's, Rukia's, Renji's, and Uryu's spiritual pressures, all far away and spread out. They were all ok, right now.

She stood in the moonlight beaming on the spot below the barred window of the far wall of this prison. It had become a consistant habit for her to do so, now one of the only things she had a choice to do.

Seiko's weary, and deeply perterbed mood took a sharp turn, when she heard Ulquiorra's voice outside of the door, as she stared in a sad, meloncholy manner up into the blak sky outside of the barred shaft above, wondering what it looked like outside, in the desert of Hueco Mundo, for she hadn't once seen the bare land outside of Las Noches.

She turned and watched as the door to her room opened and Ulquiorra walked in slowly, looking at her face, and reading her expression with ease. Her heart beat with the relief of seeing the Espada again, making her feel at the same time, terrible.

"Yes, obviously you're aware of what happened." Her heart settled into the pool of dread and deep fear as his voice seemed to her to fill the silent room, and his green eyes and pallid face, her sight. She swallowed, but still didn't leave his icy gaze.

She knew Ulquiorra was talking about Chad's sudden, utter defeat.

"That fool Nnoitora got impatient." Ulquiorra halted in the center of the room, before her, his hands in his pockets, and his tone so casual and stoic. "He was under standing orders to remain in his place." He said.

It was obvious that this Nnoitora had disobeyed Aizen and went to confront Chad, and attacked him, and so easily defeated him. But Ulquiorra purposely made it sound as if Chad was dead, but that was not true. He hadn't been killed. She knew that..that Nnoitora person Ulquiorra spoke of that'd attacked Chad hadn't finished Chad off. He was still alive, though seriously wounded, and incapacitated. He was unable to fight, his wounds too seriosu for him to even remain conscious. He was in critical condition...but still, not dead.

"I could sense what happened with Chad. He isn't dead..." Seiko said, again reaching out to sense Chad's faint spiritual pressure, to confirm her words. And he wouldn't die- he _couldn't. _Seiko couldn't bear the thought of any of her friends getting killed here in Hueco Mundo, by the arrancars, because they'd come to try to save her.

Ulquiorra looked away, to the left wall, upon her response. Yes, it was true, what she had just said. Nnoitora hadn't even finished the intruder off-he'd left him still alive, but helpless due to his serious injuries. He would soon die.

"He's still alive." Seiko said.

After a short moment, Ulquiorra slid his gaze back over to Seiko. He knew the girl was sharp. It would be foolish to think that she could be fooled into believing her friend was dead when she could sense for herself his spiritual pressure was still existent, even if barely.

Seiko tensed as Ulquiorra gazed back at her, observing her indifferently for a few moments. Her dangerous, lethal attachment to...him..was becoming harder, and harder to even try to fight. She couldn't deny it. The way he made her feel...was deep, and gutting. She couldn't run away from the horrifying reality-that she had fallen for her captor...It was so hard to keep pushing away and supressing-sooner or later, it would surely overtake her, and she would break. But that _couldn't _happen. She couldn't afford to let it...

Seiko turned her face slowly to watch Ulquiorra. He didn't say anything to her after her objection to his statement. He simply stared at her, coldly for an instant, then looked away, turning completely to the side. He spoke to the arrancar that Seiko had seen standing in the doorway but only just registered hsi presense consciously.

"Go ahead. Come in." He said. The teal-suited arrancar with a mask that covered his face, rolled in a cart of food, and set a yellow-golden-colored pitcher and cup and the covered silver platter from the cart down on the table, that had only recently been placed inside her room. The arrancar bowed subtly to Ulquiorra, and left.

Seiko looked at Ulquiorra, his eyes shutting.

"Your meal is ready." He said. "Now _eat it_."

Seiko stared at Ulquiorra, pshing down those feelings that rose up and threatened ruthlessly to choke her and drown her in the darkness of betrayal and impossibility.

"...I'm not hungry." She said, defiant, contradicting her pitifully empty stomach that she tortured by choice.

Ulquoirra looked back at her again over his shoulder.

"I understand your defiance. But until Lord Aizen tells me otherwise, staying alive is one of your duties." He said.

A distant wave of antagonism arose in her at the mention of Lord Aizen. Ulquiorra turned even further to look back at her severly.

"So _eat._" He commanded. Seiko's gaze hardened, accompanied by the unreleated pang of her heart at Ulquiorra's intense, demanding gaze. She turned away from him, wishing she could face him, but refusing to obey the orders to eat the food he had brought in.

"Would you prefer to have me force the food down your throat?"

Ulquiorra turned completely to face her back. "-Or would you rather be strapped down and retrieve the nutrients intraveniously?"

Seiko's heart turned violently inside of her chest at his threats. Why was she being forced to do all this? Why was _she _so _important_? Chad was nearly killed, and her friends very well could be on the way, because they had all come to save _her_.

She looked dolefully back at Ulquiorra. No...this time, she was _not _willing to submit. She turned away, a hand at her side clenching loosely into a fist.

She didnt seem inclined to obey this time, even after his threats, Ulquiorra observed stoicly. Perhaps she needed a fresh dose of reality to push her into submission.

"The fact...That your friend is still alive, right now-doesn't matter one way or the other. I don't even understand why you care so much-whether or not he's alive. Before this battle is over, all of your friends will be dead anyway. That's the truth."

Seiko was taken aback by Ulquiorra's words-and she tried to ignore the harsh words, that tore her heart up. She couldn't believe him. It was the cold, emotionless voice that he spoke with, so casually dismissing the lives of her friends, like they were all trash, that tore her heart up.

"So what does it matter, if one is killed a bit sooner than the other? They should've realized that this was going to happen from the start."

Seiko stared disfocused at the collar of Ulquiorra's uniform, trying to shut out the painful possibilty that her friends _could _die, trying to save her. And that he, nor anyone else in Las Noches, or Hueco Mundo, would care. She would be all alone in her frief, and completely helpless, trapped in Aizen's cluthes until she eventually died-[or was killed].

"If they didn't realize it, then they are fools, and they deserve to die for their arrogance." He spoke dully, and unfeeling as ever.

"Either way, you should dismiss them from your mind. It's not worth the effort to remember them."

How could he say that? _It's not true...No..._She couldn't let herself be lieve the lies that Ulquiorra was feeding her. There was only bitter hoplessness, and despair in his voice. It was only one side of the other possibilites...That had to be considered.

How did she love such a heartless...[her thoughts trailed off, as she had again just admitted in her mind, that she had _feelings _for _Ulquiorra, _as he insulted her friends so ruthlessly.]

Seiko knew that her friends had the determination to beat impossibly odds, despite what anyone else around them said. She had lost that in herself when she'd given up her hope of escaping Hueco Mundo. But-then, she'd been told her friends...had somehow come after her, and that spriit had been revived inside of her, a tiny flicker of hope, that her fate could change...

But it had been brutally assaulted, when she'd felt something inside of her; feelings for Ulquiorra that she had, a hollow, an Espada under Aizen's control. But she still held that hope, though it faltered and flickered constantly inside of her, as it did now.

"If I were you," Ulquiorra said, "I'd be angry that they were all foolish enough to sneak into Hueco Mundo in the first place...Like _lambs to a slaughter. _"

Seiko's fist tightened at his agonizing words, until she felt her fingernailes digging painfully into her palms. She longed for him to understand what it was like, to care about someone's life. She wish she could show him-but he had no heart.

She _had _been angry...but not that her friends had blindly rushed into Hueco Mundo in a so-called _suicide mission _to save her-But that they had chosen to risk their _lives _for hers,-when she'd already sacrificed herself to save _them_, so Aizen would spare them.

Ulquiorra undestimated her friends-or that's what she deeply hoped and believed.

But what if... _he was right? _No... She had faith in her friends. It was small, and minute, but she belivieved in them-how could they let themselves be defeated without accomplishing their goal? Ulquoirra's words hadn't done anything to quell the turmoil and angst over her friends [she never expected them to...], but they had, just a little, increased her resolve, to believe that her friends _would _somehow prove Ulquiorra wrong, while at the same time, poisoning that resolve with seeds of doubt and despair.

She looked at him, hurt by his cold, cruel words, but choosing not to accept them. She couldn't... He stared into her eyes indifferently, boring unfeelingly into her mind, his gaze piercing her heart. She tried to control the pain she felt suddenly, welling up inside of her like a flood.

He seemed-_disatisfied_ with her reaction. He was...provoking her?

Seiko tried to keep Ulquiorra's gaze, but she was forced by her own delicate nerves to look away. She wondered how he could be so cruel. Seiko didn't know what to believe, or what was the truth. She had to hope that Ulquiorra was wrong-and that her friends would be able to rescue her, and get out of here alive.

Ulquiorra's gaze then slid over to the food set in the room behind her. He turned, and walked away from her, slowly heading out.

"I will come back here again in one hour." He stopped before walking out of the door, his head turned over his shoulder, looking right [back] at her severly.

"If you havn't eaten any of your nutrients by then, I'll tie you down and _force _the food down your throat." His gaze intensified yet. "Keep that in mind." Ulquiorra said, as he walked out, Seiko watching him go. The door shut closed in Ulquiorra's wake. He was gone,...leaving Seiko alone. She was much too tense to wish he had not gone. But she found that she wanted him to return, even after all that he had just said about her friends. She couldn't shake off the dreading, sinking feeling that fell upon her as she watched Ulquiorra leaving...The feeling of wrong, despairing..._love. _It didn't matter _what _he said to her, she still couldn't make these feelings go away.

It was like...Ulquiorra had crushed her heart in his hand, and then kept it trapped inside of his strong, pallid palm, leaving her hopless of escape. He was her captor...in more ways than one. The weight that had been suspended above her head now fell and crushed her, breaking her down, seconds after he had left. How could she feel this way?

Seiko looked up into the blak sky through the metal bars above her, ignoring the food inside of her room, not willing to eat it. A hot tear fell down her cheek silently, rolling down her soft skin.

*Ulquiorra stood outside the door, then stopped for a moment, contemplating that firm defiance that burned inside the girl's eyes, still. He'd thought that had already been extinguished...but it was obvious that it had not. He did not understand why the girl held on to such foolish hopes of being saved, why she had not given up long ago...Why she refused to submit, despite her own eventual doom.

Somehting inside of him, as he wondered about this mystery, gave the faintest twinge, the question sinking down somewhere deep inside of his hollow soul, reacting with the emptiness, and something being planted inside the depths. He then walked away, down the hall, dismissing this thought. He was an arrancar; he had no business with the foolish emotions and feelings of humans.

But that twinge, something unacknowledged by his conscious mind, was a small speck of humanity, remaining inside the Fourth Espada, something that was usually not there, but somehow was. He did not recognize it, and thus walked on, nothing inside of him rising to identify with the meaning of the feeling. But nevertheless, the thing inside of him growing like a tiny plant, making something inside of him faintly, just the tiniest bit, more _human, _more _feeling, _and aware of the girl's strange emotions, unnoticed by the outward, cold, empty exterior.

Something inside of him changed...

The conscious Ulquiorra had already dismissed the girl's song from his mind, not knowing what to make of it. In an hour, he woudl go back, and be sure that Seiko had eaten. But he suspected that she would fuse despite his threats, and so prepared to then force feed her when he returned and her nutrients were indeed left untouched.

Seiko sank onto the couch, wanting to scream into its cushions, or sufficate herself in them, to stop this madness. She knew in her heart already she would not give in to Ulquiorra's threat. She was full of enough determination to defy him, despite the warning he gave her, and despite how she felt towards him. She could, and would, face the punishment...

* * *

_"These fears come rushing in when I enter here_  
_Another layer on my back_  
_A blazing fire where our glances meet_  
_The largest feeling towering over me."_

Seiko could not bring herself to eat the food that her Espada caretaker had brought her and ordered her to consume. She would _not _submit to Ulquiorra's orders..._Refusal _to obey. She could not.

She would suffer for it. But this time, she'd rather suffer than obey Ulquiorra, after all that she had done. So she laid facedown on the teal oversized sofa, in the darkness, waiting for Ulquiorra to return, and give her her punishment. She wouldn't regret it.

Seiko would show Ulquiorra that she was _not _truly one of them, and she was determined to show it. It was the only thing that she could do, now. She was helpless, except to refuse to cooporate with Aizen's orders.

Seiko hugged a pillow to her head tightly, staring off at the far wall with sorrow and fear deep in her eyes. She was afraid, that Ulquiorra had spoken the truth, and not lies-that her friends _would _die. That he was right...

But she couldn't ever bring herself to accept or believe it. Everything-she was so sad, lonely, and lost. But she refused to give in to the darkness that threatened to consume her heart. The despair and hoplessness that Ulquiorra's words had placed inside her heart, pillars of tragedy that she could never bear to happen.

No...She would't eat. And she would't believe that her friends would meaninglessly sacrifice their lives over her-they would fight, and they would win. They _had _to. Because if they didn't, everything would be lost. Her hopes, her life, and most importantly, _them. _She couldn't bear to loose them.

And she couldn't bear not to resist her captor, any longer. She could not submit to her feelings...even though they had already taken over her...she had to fight. She fefused to allow herself to be ordered around by...atleast, Aizen. She could not resist Ulquiorra directly anymore. It took too much of her-she didn't have the strenght to fight _him _any longer. But as for Aizen...she was more than willing to, aside from the fact that he might punish her by taking his wrath out on her friends. But considering the situation they were now in, it wasn't a concern anymore.

She had _nothing _to loose any more.

_An hour later..._

*Ulquiorra entered Seiko's room to find the girl lying motionless on the couch, presumable asleep.-

Seiko tensed as she heard Ulquiorra enter, lifting her head to look up at him as he slowly walked into the room.

*Ulquiorra's gaze went to the table of food-it remained completely untouched, obvious to see.

"So you have still refused to eat?" Ulquiorra asked, a twinge of hostility in his voice.

Seiko stood up and stood before Ulquiorra, looking at the floor, and bracing for the upcoming torture, feeling small fear, and dread inside of her. But she was [had been] resolved and determined not to give in.

"...Yes." She said, firmly.

"...Very well." Ulquiorra said, standing before the girl with his hands in his pockets, preparing to force the food down her throat. Seiko waited defiantly for Ulquiorra to make his move on her. Then, before she could even respond, Ulquiorra shoved her against the back wall, pinned against it harshly, in the blink of an eye. She made a gasp of startlement and slight pain at the impact, unable to move her arms or legs when she tried.

"_Mph_-!"

"I warned you of what the consequences would be if you refused to eat willingly. You have chosen to defy orders. It's your own fault." Ulquiorra said, as he grabbed her jaw brutally and forced her mouth open. Seiko's heart pounded at the feeling of Ulquiorra's strong, cold hand clamping her jaw open roughly, his unbreakably strong grip impossibly to escape. But she still strained her head to the side reflexively, trying to get away from him.

Ulquiorra held her jaw firmly in place, too strong for her to even move her head, and forced a peice of meat down her throat. Seiko made a choking sound, bringing her hands up to grasp Ulquiorra's reflexively. She gasped and choked several more times as he continued shoving the food down her throat, peice by peice. She tensed, as her throat started to hurt, swallowing several chunks of meat whole. Seiko again struggled against his solid grip, trying to get Ulquiorra to loosen up, but he only pressed her harder against the wall.

"_gh-" _Her back grated painfully against the wall under the force of Ulquiorra's constraint. Seiko gripped his wrist harder with her hands.

"Stop struggling." Ulquiorra commanded.

Seiko eventually obligued, and gave up the pointless struggle, her arms becoming tired of gripping his wrist so hard. She soon dropped them to her sides, giving in to his grip. Ulquiorra then fed her the rice and herbs that were also on the platter, not stopping until she had finished every last bite.

Ulquiorra brought the cup set on the table, filled with sweatened tea, to her lips.

"Drink." He ordered her, when Seiko didn't open her mouth. Seiko parted her lips reluctantly and let the cool liquid slid down her through, gulping it down painfully. Her throat was sore with the strain of being so brutally force fed by the Espada.

When she finished, Ulquiorra lowered the cup, and released her. He set the cup down on the empty platter, then turned back to face Seiko, his hands back in his pockets, looking at her with a gaze that could melt the sun.

"Do not make me do this again, girl. Your insubbordination will not be tolerated any longer. Either you do what you're told from now on, or you will face Lord Aizen himself." He turned his back on her, still looking back on her severly.

"Is that clear?" He asked.

"-Y-yes." Seiko answered, nearly letting him see the wince of pain in her throat that speaking caused. She was sweating, and her legs felt like they would collapse.

Ulquiorra turned and walked out. The same arrancar that was there before came in and cleared out the empty platter, pitcher and cup back onto the cart, before wheeling it out silently, as Seiko just stood there, in shock, her heart aching, that the Espada had left so soon.

She remembered the feeling of Ulquiorra's strong, pale hand clamping her jaw, almost like it were still there, he pinning her against the wall harshly. _Why? _She thought, unable to think of anything else.

She could no longer defy him. If she resisted-she would have Lord Aizen to face. And who knew what he would do to her, or what kind of punishment he would come up with. She knew she couldn't afford it.

Now, her only hope to be saved was her friends.

Ulquiorra knew now that the only thing that would break the girl was the final extermination of her friends, here in Las Noches, rushing to her rescue.

Her will was remarkably strong, and stubborn. Refusing to submit even when her life was at the complete mercy of Lord Aizen. It was...admirable, perhaps. But could not be tolerated.

He would have to go report this incident to Lord Aizen later.

_"When faith alone is not enough_  
_To keep our hands barely above_  
_We look for reason and come up empty-handed _

_How could we justify anything now?_

_As long as I blindly obey_  
_And do exactly what they say_  
_I've no one to blame but myself now.."_


	11. The Truth Known

**Konnichiwa! I hope the first part is long enough for everyone ^_^ I thought it was quite good, actually.**

PART 1,

Real Suspicion

[Day 7 Inside Las Noches]

Ulquiorra approached Aizen, standing in front of a stark, open view-window, looking out over the endless sands of the desert of Hueco Mundo, and the blak sky and white cresent moon that hung above.

"Oh, good evening, Ulquiorra. What brings you here so late?"

"I thought I'd deliver you an update on Seiko's behavior, sir." Ulquiorra replied.

"Ah, alright then. What is it?"

"She has...refused to eat her food."

"Oh? Is that so..." Aizen said, almost not surprised.

"To the point that I was made to force feed her."

"I see. Show me how it went, will you?"

"Yes, sir." Ulquiorra said obediantly, as he brought up the imagary, for Aizen to view before him, having been already expectant of the request.

Aizen watched closely, when Seiko was help up against the wall forcefully, Ulquiorra holding her mouth open so he could shove the food down her throat. She gripped his wrist with both of her hands, and she was even more tense than, considerably, a person in this situation would normally be. She was beyond just agitated, and she wasn't so uptight because she was frightened- it wasn't nearly enough to make a girl _this _tense. Although her [entire] reaction wasn't visible on the surface, he could see easily underneath what was in plain sight.

When it was all over, Aizen remarked,

"She's a very stubborn girl, isn't she?"..."Well, that will be resolved, once all of her friends running around in Las Noches have been killed. She'll have no reasons left to defy me then. Since her friends have come to save her, she feels that she should be resistant and stubborn for their sakes. But...once their dead, it won't make any difference anymore. It doesn't even make a difference now, in fact.

Her attempts to resist don't hinder me in the least."

Aizen paused again, looking out onto the endless expanse of grey sands, and lifeless crystal trees jutting out like sticks all around in the distance.

"You'll be much harsher on her if she continues to rebel, correct?"

"...Yes, sir." Ulquiorra replied certainly. "I reprimended her firmly, and told her that her insubbordination would no longer be tolerated...I doubt she'll be doing this again."

"Good. Then you can go now, if that's all."

"Thank you, sir. Good-night." Ulquiorra said, as he bowed, and turned and left.

Seiko was acting very strangely...And Aizen was beginning to suspect the reasons.

* * *

PART 2,

The Reason

_[Sometime Later]_

Aizen sat staring at the view screen before him distantly, his head resting in his hand.

He watched...the girl, Seiko attentively.

His strong hunch was growing the more he studied her and the way she seemed to behave around the Espada he'd set in charge of her, Ulquiorra.

What he watched was the collection of visual data that Ulquiorra had compiled from the time she'd arrived in Las Noches, of all the times Ulquiorra had tended to her, the purpose to keep a tabs on Seiko and, recently, to study her. He observed the girl's expressions and body language closely. Everything she did only confirmed his sneaking suspiscion. A smile spread across Aizen's face, showing surprise, but more deviousness.

He could see more and more that the girl seemed to be slowly developing...an attachment to Ulquiorra. The fourth Espada, whom he'd set in charge of overseeing her and taking care of her physical needs.

It was in her eyes, the way she looked at him, and all of her actions in his presense. She was trying to keep it locked inside, never to be seen by anyone, hidden away forever, but he had already figured it out.

It was shocking, that a human would-or could ever possibly _fall in love _with an arrancar [essentially, a hollow]. But now that he was seeing this new developement, he was very suspiscious of just that.

"My, my..." Aizen said. Seiko Kumori not only had feelings for Ulquiorra, her caretaker, but she was _in love with him. _

Aizen chuckled, as a small grin of realization spread across his hansome face. He cocked his head to the side a little, contemplating the shocking phenomena deeply. He could see it as plain as day, now. It was an unmistakable behavior, so intrigueing; unnexpected.

Even _he_ hadn't anticipated that anything like this would ever happen. Aizen would not have even deemed it possible, if he was not seeing it happen right before his own eyes.

Seiko Kumori, his new pet here in Las Noches, loved the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer. It was a fascinating situation...Though an utter surprise. Aizen actually found it almost difficult to believe. The fact was deeply stirring.

_Most of the arrancars, the highest class of the menos, Vasto Lordes, had more human appearances than hollow. But aside from that, arrancasr were nothing like humans. They had no feelings, or real emotions. THe gaping hole that every hollow had signified the complete lack of a heart. They were all, essentially, monsters. They devoured souls, and even each other.

So the thought that a human girl, such as Seiko, falling for an arrancar, here in Hueco Mundo, seemed unthinkable. Yet here he was, witnessing it for himself. It was almost-thrilling, in the shockingness and puzzle it presented. Aizen could not quite grasp just _what _might make the human girl fall in love with Ulquiorra.

But in the end, it wouldn't matter. He'd despose of her when she was no longer of use to him. As he would Ulquiorra. A tragic lovestory, although Aizen knew for certain that there was no possibility of the Espada ever feeling anything remotely similiar to what Seiko had fallen into.

Aizen distantly wondered if Gin might suspect the same of Seiko, since Gin seemed to have taken the same interest in her that he had. If Gin did begin to suspect the girl had feeligns for Ulquiorra, he knew what Gin would do about it.


	12. The Secret

[Day 8 Inside Las Noches]

_"Where can I turn_  
_Cause I need something more_  
_Surrounded by uncertainty_  
_I'm so unsure_  
_Tell me why_  
_I feel so alone_  
_Cause I need to know_  
_To whom do I owe?"_

Inside the dark room lit only by the moonlight, Seiko sensed Rukia fighting an enemy, who's power felt like about half the intensity of the one that had struck down Chad, but felt still very dangerous (and very strong), powerful enough to be one of the Espada. The two fought for a long time, soon making it very difficult to read what was going on, because of the immensity of the risen spiritual pressures. But then, Rukia's spiritual pressure dropped, and Seiko could sense her injuries were serious. and she knew that she had been defeated.

_No..! _Seiko sat straight up on the couch, her fists clenching on either side of her as she stared into the distance, focused on the fight. Alarm and dread washed into her. Seiko sensed Rukia's strength fading..., her presence reduced to a dim grey glow. She had been defeated by the enemy. Seiko _Why Rukia? Why? _She thought, anger pooring out of her. But then, Rukia's pressure spiked one last time, and in quick succession, the enemy's spiritual pressure winked out. She had defeated her adversary using the last bit of her strength. Rukia was still alive (barely)...and she could not go on. She was defeated too. _Not again. _

"Someone-let-me-out!" She cried, pounding on the door with her fist, hoping maybe someone would hear her. But she remained utterly unheard. There was no one there. Why had they risked their lives just to rescue her? She couldn't take this. Rukia and Chad had already been struck down. Ichigo, Uyru, and Renji were still out there-what would happen to them? Would they all be killed, just for her? She didn't want to have to be the one to be saved. This shouldn't be happening.

"Let me out! Agh!" A hot tear ran down her cheek, and Seiko gave up, letting her fist fall to her side, her shoulders slumping. It was all wrong. Everything.

Seiko turned to the moon, walking towards it, and remembering the connection. Should she hold on to this hope? Was it not just a dream?

* * *

[Right Now]

Gin Ichimaru walked down the halls of Las Noches, heading somewhere he didn't normally go. He had masked his spiritual pressure cleverly, so that no one would wonder about what he was doing here. He wasn't up to anything really bad, but he didn't want to get in trouble with Ulquiorra for going to visit Aizen's little pet without permission.

He walked down the light, lavender walled corridor, his footsteps falling on the pristeen blue tiled floor, lit by wall sconces placed above at intervalls along the hall, creating a mellow, calming affect. He headed down towards the alrge door tha tlead to the girl's room that Aizen was currently keeping her in, under the care of Ulquiorra.

By concealing his spiritual pressure, he could just slip in and out without anyone's knowledge. Ulquiorra wouldn't be able to sense any traces of his pressure in the girl's room that would give him away, and tip Ulquiorra off that he'd been sneaking around with the girl behidn his back. This way, it was much more convenient.

He finally stood in front of the door. Gin knocked lightly. Seiko inside, turned her head back, looking at the door she had just been pounding on, as she heard the rapping on the door, soft and curt. It was not Ulquiorra. Seiko stood up, as she heard the voice speak from outside.

"Hello?" The voice sang. "Are you in there,...Seiko?"

"Huh?" Seiko said. His voice-it was distinct, syrupy, in a light, charming tone.

_Gin...Ichimaru. _One of the two other captains that had betrayed the soul society along with Sosuke Aizen. escaping here to Hueco Mundo in possession of the dangerous, powerful Hogyoku.

_Him?...What is he doing here? What does he want with me? _She thought.

"Would it be alright with you if I came in? I just wanted to have a little _talk _with you."

"...Yes." Seiko answered, loud enough for him to here. _A talk...? _What could he want to talk with her about? Either way, she couldn't at all stop him from entering if she wanted to.

Gin opened the door, peeking through it as it swung open slowly.

"Hello there." He said. The girl was quite a beauty to behold, with whitish blonde hair that fell back over her shoulders, and silvery grey eyes to go with it, her arrancar uniform perfectly fitting her figure.

He walked slowly into the room, adressing Seiko. "I just thought I'd pay a visit to you, just to have a little _chat._ Do you mind?" He asked, looking at her, grinning towards her with his narrow eyes.

"Umh-" She didn't know how he expected her to answer him. The former squad captain wore a long white robe, with blak lining, under which another plain white attire was. He had abanded his former Captain's garment and Soul Reaper shihaksho altogether.

"..no.." She finally answered.

"Oh, good. I didn't want to be intruding, or anything." He replied, acting politely relieved. Gin looked around, at the room, which was now flooded by light from the hallway.

"Such a spacious room you have here. Lord Aizen is very generous, isn't he?" He commented. The room around Seiko was usually surrounded in darkness, but now the illumination in the corridor outside washed in from the open doorway, the walls were a brighter teal, the grande couch a light aqua blue, the pillows a slightly different shade form the other. The rug seemed to be a deep, navy blue, and the table and chair over on the right side of the space, slightly differently colored from the walls around.

Seiko locked gazes with the former squad captain known as Gin Ichimaru uncertainly. He swung his gaze back to look at her boyishly, with his unsettling smile, his hair shifting breezily with the subtle movement.

His eyes squinted more, and his smile seemed, to just a little, twitch. Then he chuckled at her, relishing her apphrehension.

"It seems Ulquiorra has been put in charge of taking care of you, am I correct? ...An Espada's taking care of you.. My, my-You're pretty important to Lord Aizen."

Seiko's heart beat unsettingly at the way Gin said Ulquiorra's name to her. He looked at her with a very strange look, staring at her with an amused expression, deeply unnerving with his gaze. He was flattering her...but why? What did he care what she had to do with Aizen? Or was he just aimlessly making efforts to mess with her, for no reason at all?

She suddenly remembered what Gin'd said he'd came here for...

"..You wanted to talk about something..?" She asked, uncertainly. She felt something burning deep inside the pit of her stomach, anxiety, and nerves, in the presence of the former Soul Reaper Captain.

"Oh, right." Gin said. He walked to stand in front of her, and stared at her intently, seeming to shift to a more serious mood. He chuckled lowly again, the breezy smile on his face never faltering. A few seconds seemed to pass, as he stared into her eyes, and his smile subtly spread wider. Then his gaze seemed to turn aside to the wall, in a casuall manner, calm, and normal.

"Tell me, Seiko, have you ever been...in love before?" He asked, immediately turning back to look at her, watching her reaction eagerly.

"Wha-what?" Seiko asked, her heart seeming to stop, for a dire moment as she heard and processed the question, then pounding in her chest when Ulquiorra's face burned in her mind. She tried to push it back, to stay calm, only her unconcealable surprise showing.

She suddenly felt extremely nervous, and uneasy. No...He couldn't know, at all, about...her undeniable feelings for Ulquiorra. It was impossible.

_There's no way..._

Gin seemed to lean back, his sleeves inside of each other, arms folded inside of them before his waist.

"Oh? Was I not clear?" He asked. He faced her directly again, his mannerisms pressuring her intensely. His question was obviously rhetorical, and Seiko's eyes and body shifted in a surprised way that suggested that she had heard his question, but was unable to respond.

_There's no way he could ever possibly know..._ Seiko thought. Unless Ulquiorra had _already _figured it out, somehow. But she knew that idea could not be real...She would've known if he'd begun to suspect something about her...

"...No.." Seiko answered, mustering up all of the persuasion ability she could at the moment, as her heart hammered inside her rib cage, and she used all of her concentration just to try to hide how shaken she was by the question. She...didn't know how...but Gin Ichimaru was _on _to her, somehow... If he really was playing...She couldn't ever let him get his hands on the truth about who she had these strong feelings for...

Gin stared at Seiko, intensely, as if he could see right through her. His smile had become a little quirky, upon her response, more like a slight smirk now. His eyes narrowed. His stare made her feel as if he was reading her thoughts, finding out what she really felt, penetrating through all her barriers, without effort.

Then, he said,

"That...was a lie."

_Huh? _Seiko's eyes widened in disbelief and horror-She didn't have discipline to try to hide her shocked reaction from Gin. _No..._alarm drifted fast through her veigns, and her heart started to sink with falling dread. Before she even had a chance to try to contridict what he said.

Gin said,

"You're not telling the truth, Seiko..." He chuckled, his smile shrinking deviously, as he then said, "I _know_ what your hiding," wagging his finger at her. His eyes pierced her like a spear, his grin ever-so-sly.

"It's about Ulquiorra..." He said.

"What-what are you saying?" Seiko said, trying to sound shocked, and defiant...

"You seemed to have warmed up to that Espada _quite a bit_." Gin said, ignoring her outburst.

Seiko's heart stopped, and everything around her seemed to slow...

"Am I right?" He said. Seiko shook her head, in complete denial of what was happening.

"No-wh-what?" She breathed, staring into Gin's sinister, sly eyes, her own in shock and horror. Her heart raced inside of her chest, in impending doom, and consternation filled her, along with a dread, deep and gutting inside of her stomach. "No..." she said again, not fooling Gin in the least with her attempted denial.

"Oh, come on. Don't try to hide it. You _know_ it's true." Gin leered at her, his voice soft almost malicious. "You've grown quite attached to Ulquiorra, havn't you, oh deary?" He said, walking towards her slowly. Seiko looked away, trying to avoid Gin's piercing gaze, while the inescapable truth was dragged out from the darkness of her heart that she'd thought _no one _could penetrate, into the blinding, insane light, utterly unavoidable.

Gin came closer and closer, and Seiko backed up against the wall, where she couldn't escape from him any longer. There was no avoiding him, or the accusation he made, because it was true. She couldn't bring herself to even deny a word Gin said. And that fact awakened her to how far she really had fallen.

Seiko slowly slid her eyes back to Gin in the one or two seconds that passed, nothing for her to do but dreadingly give up trying to deny it; stunned, dismaying dread laced around her face, bathed in the remnants of the moonlight that reached directly underneath the window. She felt trapped; cornered, with no way out of it. And that was the truth. She couldn't escape.

[If time had frozen in that moment], Seiko looked so pretty in her despairing anxiety and defeat. Gin, his smile inviting yet sinister all at the same time, as well as a shadow of playfullness...His eyes, squinted back with he grin, shifting, distantly antic, but it seemed as if they could see right through her, and abstract her most intimate thoughts as clearly as if they were pages in a book.

[Time unfreeze] Gin leaned closer to her; he couldn't resist not toying with such an easily defeated, beauty. It sent a thrill of joy to see the girl so horrified and scared. He spoke softly into her ear, making Seiko tense all over, as if she might gasp in utter unnerved-ness.

"It's true, isn't it?" He pulled his face back, as Seiko thought in sheer denial, her eyes wide with shock, _This can't be happening... _But she knew it was, as Gin grabbed her chin and held it up to him, to make her look at him directly.

"You've somehow fallen in love with Ulquiorra Schiffer. Just _admit it_." All Seiko could do was look up into Gin's face helplessly, her heart filled with dread and denial. How could he have known...so effortlessly seeing what she did had a connection with Ulquiorra, and figuring out that she'd developed feelings for the Espada? How..was it possible?

"There's no need to hide it." Gin pressed.

When Seiko's composure suddenly faltered, her eyes falling to stare at the floor as her head dropped, her eyebrows furrowed in an expression of pain and defeat, Gin chuckled.

"You've got it bad for _him,_ don't you, toots? " Gin said, leering at her again. "You can't even speak."

"I-" Seiko made a small noise, but just gave it up. What could she say? If she tried to deny it, he'd only prove her lying. She just stood there, frozen.

Gin faced the side, ever-casual. "Falling for an arrancar...and one of the Espadas..." He looked back at her. "Naughty, naughty girl. But I suppose you just couldn't help it, could you? Obviously not, seeing the state you're in now." Gin laughed, and Seiko stood their in silence, unable to say anything.

"..He could never love you back, you know...He doesn't have a heart. He's a _hollow_..."

Gin lifted his hand and patted her cheek indifferently. "He's not going to care, at all." Gin turned, to leave.

"Don't waste your time." He said coldly, relishing her unfortunate situation. He began walking to the door way.

Seiko's breath went out of her, as she watched him going.

"Don't worry." Gin said, looking back at her and putting a finger to his smirking lips. "It's your secret...for now." he waved to her before turning out of sight.

"See you later." He said, and dissapeared, triumphant, the dor shutting closed behind him. Seiko slowly let herself slide down to the floor, her legs refusing to hold her up any longer. She sat there, silent, and shocked. A dry sob escaped her, as she broke down.

"Ulqu-iorra...?"

**Gin remained outside the door long enough to hear her desparate cries, a satisfying sound to his ears. He had certainly succeeded.

He walked away down the hall again.

_That was even easier than I thought it would be. _He thought. He might've lied about whether he might tell her dirty little secret...He _might_ tell...Maybe, if he _felt _like it. But he'd have to consult _Aizen _about it first. Aizen was sure to have seen it too, how the girl now felt about the 4th Espada. He had probably figured it out even before Gin had.

So hard to comprehend, that a human girl like Seiko would lvoe an arrancar...an Espada...But he was very entertained by it. He wondered what would happen between Ulquiorra and his little captive.

_So deliscious._ He thought.

_[Later]_

Seiko did not know what to do. She was shocked, and afraid-so fearful of what would come next, after this had happened. What if Lord Aizen found out?

No-that couldn't happen. If Aizen found of about her feelings for Ulquiorra, he would use them utterly against her-he would purposely pit Ulquiorra against he friends, and force her to choose-a descision she was not sure she could ever make, not now, or ever anymore. She didn't know what to do...It was so utterly out of her hands. She had no control over anything that happened.

If Aizen found out how she felt, she wasn't sure that she would be able to take it. She had come to love Ulquiorra-and to watch the cold Espada fight agaisnt her friends, and probably defeat them-Would it mark the end of her sanity? Or had that end already come, when she'd fallen for him? She didn't know. She barely knew anything anymore.

She was so afraid. What could she do? There was nothing.

_Please... _Seiko thought, her eyes shut tight. She couldn't believe what had happened to her.

_"Now I'm a walking contradiction_  
_So tell me what's wrong with this picture?_  
_Cause anyone can see that this is only permanent_

_So give it up, just give up_  
_Give it up, give up_  
_Give it up, just give up_  
_Give it up, give up..."_


	13. Conspiracy

PART 1,

Recent Developments

[Day 9 Inside Las Noches]

Aizen sat on the balcony that overlooked the empty, endless desert of Hueco Mundo, enjoying the faint breeze that brushed across his face. The moon was out high up in the blak sky, in which clouds driften peacefully across.

The intruders here in Las Noches were getting closer, he mused. But they could not stop him.

Rukia Kuchiki was going up against Aaroniero Arruruerie, the 9th Espada, at this very moment, and she was not doing too well. And Nniotora had disobeyed his orders, and went off on his own and struck down Yasutora Sado. Two of Seiko's friends had already fallen, and the rest would certainly follow. His plans remained unaffected.

And Seiko...her feelings for the Fourth Espada Ulquiorra Schiffer would not be wasted on him. He intended to put them into very good use for his plans.

As he sat, relaxing for the time being, Aizen sensed Gin's presence near behind him. He turned to see him there, in the doorway. Gin leaned casually on the frame of the door.

"Hi, Lord Aizen." Gin greeted.

"Gin." replied Aizen, looking foward again. _I've been expecting you. _

"How are things going?" Gin asked, as he walked in to Aizen's side.

"Quite good. And I can guess why you're here."

"..Mm-hm." Gin confirmed, a grin spread across his face. They both knew of the recent developement of feelings for a certain Cuatro Espada, in the girl Seiko Kumori, Aizen's captive here in Las Noches.

"...Your little captive here's fallen in love with Ulquiorra Schiffer, it seems." Gin said with false sweetness after the moment of silence, speaking what they were both of course, adressing non-verbally.

"I know." Aizen said, cool and calm. It was shocking still, though, whenever he brought his mind upon the subject. And still very intriguing.

_There were no other arrancars around to eavesdrop on this conversion and go off to make some trouble with the girl, or maybe even Ulquiorra. He could only think of perhaps a few that would have any interest in the subject a/o the girl whatsoever. But it was safe to talk freely without any unwanted interference.

"How sweet." Gin said, chuckling, as Aizen made no immediate comment.

"It's quite shocking, is it not?" asked Gin, this time of course expecting a reply.

"...Yes, indeed" Aizen replied, agreeing after a short moment.

"I take it you went to speak with her, didn't you?" He asked Gin, with a slightly you've-been-naughty tone of voice hidden in his pitch. He of course, would've been shocked if Gin _hadn't _taken this course of action, for the man had always been the sneaky, mischievous type. Yet, always knew how far was too far, thus he was a trustworthy subbordinate from the very beginning, despite his characteristic slyness and deceit. He had certainly been loyal so far.

"I'm sorry. I simply couldn't resist." Gin spread his hands in an innocent shrug. "You know me." His tone dropped a notch, more devious, as he dropped his arms back down, and folded them together inside his sleeves. "She was just too easy to crack."

Aizen rested his head on his palm. "I see." He said. How had she fallen for an arrancar? he wondered. Though, really the only thing that mattered was how he would use this to his advantage, and fit it into the picture of his grand plan.

"Gin, I want you to keep this between you and me. I don't want Ulquiorra to have knowledge of this yet. There's no need for him to know right now...Let's just watch and see what happens." Aizen said.

"As you wish, Lord Aizen." Gin replied. "_I _wont tell anyone."

"..Good."

Seiko Kumori was officiall no longer herself anymore. She was lost to her old self. She was...What was she? Just his servant now, and for the remaining of the time that he needed/could use her for his plans, he would use her attachment to the fourth Espada to the benefit of his ultimate scheme. She was...just his toy now, to play around with; his tool to use for his purpose.

He would just wait, for now. Wait... observe, and plan.

* * *

PART 2,

That Soul Reaper

[The Same Day]

One of the other Soul Reapers, a member of Squad 13, was currently battling with the 9th Espada, Aaroniero, and would soon run out of strenth. She was not poweful enough to defeat even the 9th Espada, in her current state. She would die.

The Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki, was inside the Palace, somewhere close. And it was Ulquiorra's duty to make sure that this threat was eliminated. So he would go to intercept him, soon.


	14. Confrontation

[Day 9 inside Las Noches]

The orange-haired Soul Reaper ran, down the empty dark corridor, the little arrancar Nelliel tucked under his arm. The shadows of the blu-ish dim corridor were deep.

Then, as he ran, Ichigo Kurosaki suddenly felt Rukia's spiritual pressure decrease greately, alarmingly. She was injured; possibly defeated. He skidded to a halt, looking back in the direction he sensed her from, the little arrancar in his grip being jolted by the abrupt stop.

"Oogh-ah.." Nelliel looked up at Ichigo. "Is there something wrong, Ichigo?" She asked.

"Rukia..." He had to go help her. She was in trouble. Her spiritual pressure had decreased so much that he could barely sense it. That meant she was seriously injured. He had to get there fast...Before it was too late.

*There was a staircase behind them. And suddenly, just then, Ulquiorra appeared at the top of it, behind the orange-haired Soul Reaper.

"So you've noticed." He said.

-Ichigo heard the voice behind him, and up, a voice that belonged to someone very powerful-and familiar. Ichigo's eyes went wide, and he swung around toward the source of that voice, and powerful spiritual pressure, to see the figure at the top of the steep staircase, in a white arrancar uniform that he had seen before, with a pastel blue and green zanpakto that he had also glimpsed before, his figure silhuetted by the light beyond the entrance above/behind.

"I thought you were a kid who possessed only brute strength." The arrancar said. Ichigo felt the famliarity increase as the voice spoke again.

"Quite frankly, I'm amazed that you have some decent abilities." Ulquiorra said, gazing down at the shocked orange-haired Soul Reaper.

He was distinctly familiar-

"I know you..." Ichigo said, sure of it.

"It's been a while, right, Soul Reaper?"

Nel's mouth hung open, her big bronze eyes wide with fear and awe, making a soft gawking sound.

The Espada began descending the steps, his footsteps echoing in the stark silence of the long corridor around him. Blak hair-green eyes, lines going down his pale face-and the hollow mask on the left side of his head, with the horn jutting out of the top side...

Again, Ichigo said, "I _know_ you..." He remembered where he'd seen this guy before-He was the arrancar that had deflected Kisuke Urahara's _benehime_ with the swatt of his hand, so effortlessly; and he'd grapped Grimmjow's arm, just as he was about to kill Rukia; descending up in the ray of the negacion, returning back to Hueco Mundo...

And his name was...

"Ulquiorra." Ichigo said. And he was an _Espada. _

"How interesting, that you know my name. I don't think I ever told you my name before." Ulquiorra said. Nel watched the Espada, frighted, her face frozen in a look of astonishment and shock. Ichigo stood by, his eyes on Ulquiorra, his entire body tense.

Ulquoirra reached the foot of the steps, and stood there, facing him.

"At any rate, Rukia Kuchiki is dead."

_What?_

"More accurately, she and Espada number nine killed each other. Her entire body was covered in wounds. And she was run through by a trident. She couldn't have survived."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Ichigo said. " Just a moment ago, I felt Rukia's spiritual pressure decrease. You weren't fighting her. There's no way you could kno-"

"Syncronized awareness." The Espada explained, cutting him off. "That was one of Neuveno Espada's talents. He had many responsibilities, and that was one of his roles. In the exact instant that he first engages in battle, he can convey information on his enemy."

Ignorant and unbelieving of Ulquiorra's lie, Ichigo turned away, and began to walk away from him. He had to go help his friend. He didn't care what Ulquiorra said. He knew she was still alive. And Seiko was still here, and remained out of danger. But Rukia needed his help _now_. He had to go back.

"Where are you going?" Ulquiorra asked. The orange- haired Soul Reaper halted for a second.

"I'm going to save Rukia." He answered.

"She's dead."

Ichigo was silent for a moment, then replied, "I don't believe you."

"You're very stubborn." The Espada said. "Is it a good idea to leave without killing me?" He asked.

"I have no reason to kill you." Ichigo said.

"And what do you mean by that?" Ulquiorra inquired.

"You may be my enemy," Ichigo said, "But the fact is, you havn't hurt a single one of my friends yet."

Ulquiorra was silent. Then he said, "I see." This boy was not aware that he had been the one to force Seiko to come to Hueco Mundo in the first place.

"What if I tell you-That I was the one who forced Seiko Kumori to come to Hueco Mundo?" Ulquiorra inquired. That certainly got a response. It took only a millisecond for Ichigo to take in what the Espada had just said. And then he was gone, reappearing right in front of Ulquiorra, his sword pressing against the back of the Espada's hand, and his spiritual pressure risen all around him in a cloud of fury.

[Nel was dropped in the process, "Wu-ahh!" She yelped, as she fell to the floor.]

"You kidnapped her and brought her here! I suspected that she didn't come to Hueco Mundo of her own free will!" Ichigo yelled, infuriated, but his attack not causing any damage, as Ulquoirra blocked it effortlessly with one hand.

"How unnexpected." He replied. "You had some doubts about the girl, didn't you? Despite that, you and your friends came to save her."

"D*** you!" Ichigo exclamed. "Do you understand what you did! Because of your actions, Seiko is being called a traitor!" The bright light of his spiritual pressure flowed in spiked waves around him, Ulquiorra remaining unaffected by its power.

"A traitor, yes." He replied softly. "If she were not being called that, it would mean that we grossly miscalculated."

"_Kh_- You b*******!" Ichigo pressed Sangetsu's blade harder against the Espada's rigid hand.

"Is that enough to fight me now, Soul Reaper?" Ulquiorra inquired, gazing at the furious boy indifferently. Ichigo let his spiritual pressure erupt, and skidded back, dust clouds whirling about. He shifted back, Sangetsu ready, feet spread.

Nel, who layed on her belly on the cold floor as the explosion of spiritual pressure whirled intensly around herm her hands over her ears, and her eyes sqeezed shut. Then she slowly opened her eyes, lowering her hands, looking up to see Ichigo, standing in front of her, his back facing her, (his front facing the Espada Ulquiorra) sword held down pointing towards the ground.

"Uh-Ichigo?" The little arrancar said.

Ichigo didn't look at her, but said,

"Nel. Make sure you stay back."

"But-Ichigo-" She said, persistant.

"He doesn't want to let me get by." Ichigo said, looing towards the Espada, naiive confidence plastered on his face, his gaze steady. "But unfortunately things won't turn out the way that he'd like." Then Ichigo fell back, shifting his stance, his head down.

_I must move quickly. I'm going to go at this guy-_ The determined orange-haired Soul Reaper looked up at his oponent, much stronger than he. _With everything- _Dark energy began to pulsate from Sangetsu's hilt, out around the huge blade. _I've got!_

The blak energy erupted and engulfed him, as Ichigo shouted, "Bankai!", the transformed, sleek blak sword pointing at the Espada standing in front of him, the loud roar of the spiritual pressure filling the air.

Ulquiorra stood watching the Soul Reaper, observing, his hands resting comfortably inside of his pockets. A huge blast extending up from Ichgio's completely obscured figure, shooting all the way up to the ceiling high above. The wind of the pressure ruffled Ulquiorra's uniform, and his hair.

"A bankai, is it?" He said, staring up at the intense, smoky plume created by Ichigo's bankai release. But the smoke parted, and the Espada caught a glimpse of his face-covered by a hollow mask-his eyes transformed into two yellow, smoldering pupils inside blak pits.

_What? _The Espada thought, his eyes going wide. The hollowfied Ichigo stood suspended high in the air above, holding his sword horizontally in front of him, his left hand on the blade. Then, he rose it above his head, summoning the raw, dark energy up around him, in preparation for the attack.

The view Ulquiorra had from below was a dark spiral of energy, like a twisted maelstrom, twirling around the Soul Reaper. Then the energy drew together, and hurtled down towards him, Ichigo emitting an animal, hollow-like roar, as he shot down straight towards Ulquiorra.

The Espada calmly, unflinchingly brought a hand out of his pocket to meet the crashing wave of intense, dark power. But when it made contact, he realized the force was even stronger than he'd calculated. Ulquiorra's eyes went wide, as he was forceably pushed back, the ground beneath his feet instantly crumbling under the pressure.

Ichigo drove forward more, giving another hollow-like roar. The raw power sent Ulquiorra suaring backwards through the air, crashing relentlessly through three huge pillars, until he flipped in midair to right himself, and pushed off of the forth, the stone instantly crumbling and caving in on the impact of his wake. He soared back towards Ichigo, who stood ready for another attack.

s_What is this form? And how can he posess such spirit energy?_ Ulquiorra thought, astonished at the power of the attack, and the unexpected developement of the Soul Reaper.

_It's as if-he's one of us._

Hollowfied Ichigo brought his bankai up over his head once again, as the Espada rebounded back from his first attack, only seconds passing between that time and now. Ulquiorra stood prepared to face the second wave, and counter it.

"It's over." Ichigo said, the hollow-like eyes of his gleeming with the intent to destroy, _now. _

"Getsuga-Tensho!" He swung his bankai. The dark, powerful energy flew again at the Espada. Ulquiorra again met the attack with one hand, to block the immense energy. But even this time, it was too powerful . The raw power forced his hand back, one, two, three beats, roaring around him, threatening to consume him, until Ulquiorra forceably brought his other hand up, in attempt to keep it at bay. But the energy was just too much.

_Impossible_- Ulquiorra thought, his eyes wide as the attack over took him, and consumed him, with a deafening roar.

-Ichigo panted, his shoulders heaving up and down with utter exaustion of his power. His mask crumbled, the peices slowly cracking and falling off of his face, to the ground. He struggled just to stay standing, while trying to catch his breath.

-But the Espada was not dead, or even defeated-merely temporarily overwhelmed with this new power Ichigo had obtained. He lay on the ground amonst the wreckage, his uniform now tattered and torn from the raging attacks of Ichigo.

-The little arrancar yelled.

"Ichigo!" She flew through the air-

"Nel?" The orange-haired Soul Reaper said, turning to look, just before she rammed right into him, with such force that he was sent tumbling backward, and smacked right into the back of a pillar.

The little arrancar balled unashamedly. "Ichigo!" She sobbed, grabbing the shocked Soul Reaper's collar, yanking him back and forth.

"I thought you were going to die! I thought you were going to die! Don't die!" She exclaimed.

"W-who knows, I still might." The orange-haired Soul Reaper replied, as he was jerked back and fourth by the histeric arrancar.

She stopped, and looked up at Ichigo dolefully, tears still falling from her eyes. "Look at you, a complete wreck, but you still use your powers to fight with! Stop that! It's naughty crazy! I was really worried about you-and you were fighting, and I was scared!" She gasped for a breath, then continued. "So don't, don't do that anymore. Don't do it!"

The orange-haired Soul Reaper gazed down at the little arrancar compassionately, as she continued to cry and yammer on about him getting hurt and putting himself in danger. "Sorry, Nel." he said. "I guess that-you got pretty scared."

The little arrancar looked up at him, showing herself to be a complete wreck, emotionally.

"Oh Ichigo!" She cried, her nose running profusely. Ichigo looked down at himself, and saw that it was **_on_** him.

"Gah! Your snot!" He exclamed. "Come on Nel, that's gross!"

"Back it goes." She said, sucking it back up with a smile.

"How nice..." said the Soul Reaper in relief. Then he got up to his feet slowly, lowering the little arrancar off of his lap and onto the floor in front of him.

"Are you ok, Ichigo?" She fretted.

"Yeah, I'm okay. We can't waste any more time hanging around here."

-The brief, amusing exchange gave the beaten Espada more than enough time to recover from the unnexpected overpowering.

A figure rose from the dust hanging around like a haze in the air, from the intense fight that had only just took place, and apparently, was not over. Ichigo turned his head slowly, his eyes widening in utter shock when he saw-

"What?" He whispered, barely audible. "How?"

Ulquiorra stood there, alive, with nothing more than a tattered uniform.

"Impressive." The Espada said to him. "Even using both my hands, I couldn't stop it. I must say, I'm quite surprised." But... "Was that it?" He asked the astonished Soul Reaper. "Finished, Ichigo?"

Ichigo had used everything he had against him. And it had taken its tole on him. Ichigo just stared at Ulquiorra, shocked. After all that-and he was still alive...

"I cant-" He stuttered.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes. "Hm." He brushed the shoulder of his uniform off. "Yes, it would appear it was." He said, opening his eyes to look at Ichigo, lifting his hand out, his index finger pointing towards the spent Soul Reaper.

Ichigo gasped, jumping back in horror. He was going to-

"How unfortunate." said the Espada, a green cero forming on the tip of his index finger, quickly enlarging, then exploding, blasting out straight at Ichigo. A blinding flash of energy, lethal, and barely avoidable.

Ichigo drew his hollow mask at the last second, in the moment he had to react before he and Nel were hit. It absorbed the attack, but it wasn't enough. They were basted out, through the wall of the corridor, thrown far, crashing into the sand of the desert.

Ichigo ran, ran, in order to escape him, to get Nel away-The left side of his Shihaksho completely blasted off, leaving his torso and arm bare, scarred, and charred skin. He held Nel under one arm as he sprinted as fast as he could.

"Nel!" He yelled, to the unconscious arrancar. "Are you alright? Try to hold on! I'm gonna find you somewhere that's safe. You can rest!"

Yet he wasn't fast enough to escape Ulquiorra. The Espada sonidoed, easily overtaking the Soul Reaper, running right beside Ichigo. He turned to look at him, and his left leg flew out, and kicked Ichigo in the gut, with such tremendous, effortless power. Ichigo, with the little arrancar in his arms, was sent flying back through the air, until he crashed through a pillar, debris and rocks tumbling down, and crashing on top of him in the impact, creating a large, hollow cave in the huge column...

-Ulquiorra followed.

-Ichigo yelled agonizingly as he slowly manuevered a huge chunk of rock off of his back, grimacing in pain with the effort. Once it was off, he fell foward onto his hands, panting, trying just to stay conscious.

Ulquiorra appeared in the opening of the huge hollow he had created, standing in front of Ichigo.

"I'm impressed by your reaction time." He said. "You used your mask to block my cero. But this time, it shatterd instantaneously." He walked in towards Ichigo. "I'm afraid you won't be able to bring it out again. You've nothing left to hold me off. It's time to give up."

But Ichigo abruptly jabbed his sword into Ulqiorra's chest, halting the Espada in his tracks. Ulquiorra stared down at the perisistant Soul Reaper.

"I'll never surrender." He said. "You're the leader of the Espada, aren't you? So-" Ichigo lifted his head up to look at him, with a weak grin. "It's very simple. What I have to do is defeat you in battle, and this war is as good as over."

"...I see." Ulquiorra said. "It looks like you have been mis-informed."

_What? _The Espada reached up and grabbed Ichigo's bankai, moving it, tearing his jacket open, so he could see the number 4 that was tattoed on his bare, sculpted chest.

Ichigo's eyes widened. His sword lowered. "You're...number four?"

"Correct." He replied. "Espada number four, Ulquiorra Schiffer. Of all the Espada, my power is ranked...Fourth."

Ulquiorra's hand rose up, towards Ichigo, and thrust out.

Ichigo gasped. He looked down slowly at the fist embedded in his chest, in shock.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. It's pointless." Ulquiorra said. "You cannot defeat me. Even if you were lucky enough to succeed, there are three Espada ranked above me who are much stronger than I. Try as many times as you like."

He pulled the hand out of the Soul Reaper's torso, blood spurting out from the hole. Ichigo gasped, then fell facedown to the ground, defeated. "The result will always be the same. It appears that I have grossly overestimated you. You're developement-didn't meet my expectations."

Ichigo lie there, motionless, as Ulquiorra peered down at him. "This is the end, then." The 4th Espada said, and turned, walking out slolwy.

"If you can still move in that condition, leave Hueco Mundo immediately. If you can't move, than die there."

Ichigo could hear the Espada as he walked away, clinging to consciousness, just barely, desperate to stay alive-he had to save Seiko...But...he couldn't move. The blackness was closing in.

"No matter what, your path ends here, Soul Reaper." Ulquiorra said, and dissapeared.

Ichigo's bankai slowly dissipated, it's dark energy seeping out of his body and his blade, the sword reverting back to it's normal form, as he slipped into unconsciousness. It couldn't end like this. He had to save Seiko, no matter what-but... He couldn't. He had failed...for now.


	15. Malice

_[Day 10 Inside Las Noches]_

_"Do you see what we've done?_  
_We've gone and made such fools of ourselves_  
_Do you see what we've done?_  
_We've gone and made such fools of ourselves"_

_Meanwhile..._

Seiko felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure suddenly rise. He had encountered someone-? Seiko reached out, to the immense spiritual pressure- it was familiar-

_It was Ulquiorra..._

No-It couldn't be-but it was...

Seiko sat on her legs, on the floor, her hands folded and lay out over her head, as she rested it in the cushion of the couch in front of her, her vision surrounded by darkness...

And the two spiritual pressures clashed...But she couldn't sense anything more than that, other than the violent, animal intensity of Ichigo's bankai-and the rise of the Espada's spiritual pressure-but overwhelming by Ichigo's... and then everything ceased. Ichigo's spiritual pressure mellowed out-but Ulquiorra; she couldn't sense his pressure at all. Seiko's heart pounded, not willing to believe it, in shock. No-he couldn't be dead. He _couldn't._ She searched desperately, trying to sense it-and found him, a suspressed glimmer...

And then it sky-rocketted-and Ichigo was hit-she sensed his pressure decrease badly. And then, it dropped even more, until-it was barely a glimmer-Ichigo was..defeated...By Ulquiorra. Dread filled her...And then, Seiko gasped, jumping, her head shooting up, as a dark, heavy, familiar wind brushed over her, and around her, ruffling her hair in it's breeze, before it shot up... It only confirmed what had just happened.

"Ichigo...No..." Her voice trembled. Seiko was overwhelmed with guilt. First, it was Chad-then..Rukia-and now, Ichigo...by _Ulquiorra's _own hands. She was ridden with disbelief, denial...

It.. can't be...

Then, right as she was about to break, Seiko heard the door crack open, light shining in from the hallway... Seiko's eyes widened, and she looked up, anticipation to see the Espada's face rising in her-

"Ulqu-iorra?..." She knew that it wasn't him. The door didn't open. Then who was it? An unsettling feeling crept into Seiko's stomach. Seiko stood, wondering if it was Gin-but she sensed two pressures

"Look at that. The little pet's all by herself." Someone said, then laughed. That voice-she'd heard it before. Seiko's heart sank uneasily, as the door opened wider, and she saw Loly and Menoly peeking from around the doorframe, Loly with a nasty, sinister smile on her face. Her voice came sweet and hauntingly evil.

"Oh, Seiko...Let's play-a little-game..." She said. The door opened all the way, and Loly stood in the doorway with a hand on her hip and a smug look on her face, Menoly beside her, with her arms crossed, smirking. Seiko stood there, tense as the two walked in leisurely.

Loly lifted her arms up, and back down gesturingly, "Huh-Well, look at this. You live in a fancy room, don't ya? Yeah..." she said, as she and Menoly passed closely on either side of Seiko, Loly glancing at Seiko tauntingly as she walked by her. Loly reached down and stroked the sofa. "Nice..." She commented, then layed down on it in a fashionable manner, propping herself up on her arms.

"Yeah, it's a _very _nice room. I guess Lord Aizen must really like you alot." She patted one of the pillows, gazing at it. "Isn't that the truth, little pet?" She asked, looking at Seiko. "You're the girl of the hour. _Everybody's_ talking about you. It's amazing that _five_ peope came to save you." Seiko's heart panged, her gaze hardening at the statement. Ichigo...Rukia...Chad...Uryu...and Renji...She closed her eyes, shutting them tight. She didn't _want_ to be important at all, if this is what it would cost...

And Aizen didn't really like her at all. He just wanted her powers. These two girls seemed to be _jealous_ of her. _Jealous_, of _her_. Of **_her_**. If they really knew what it was like to be her, they wouldn't be jealous at all.

"Tell me, little Seiko." Loly said, as she hopped off the couch, and walked towards Seiko. "Do you think you're so great?" She laid her hands on Seiko's shoulders. Loly walked around to the front of Seiko. "Think you're special?" she asked. Her voice rose-" Think you_ deserve_ all this attention? Huh?" She walked foward, forcing Seiko to back up, getting her cornered against the wall. Anger and grief welled up inside of Seiko, consuming her.

"_**No**_!" Seiko blurted out intensely, her gaze flitting on either side of her, seeing no escape. She knew being cornered up against the wall was a dangerous position to be in here, but it was too late to try to get away.

"Huh. Ya hear that? Ya hear what she's saying?" Loly said, looking back at Menoly. "She says _no_."

"How shocking." Menoly said. Then Loly slapped a hand on the wall beside Seiko, causing a breath of startlement to escape her, her eyes widening.

"Let me give you a little piece of advice." Loly said, reaching out to stroke the top of Seiko's head delicately, adding in a sickeningly sweet tone, "Little pet Seiko..." Then Loly grabbed a fistful of that hair, and flung Seiko visciously back, Seiko crying out. She hit the ground a few feet away, her scalp in agony. Seiko tried to lift herself up to her hands and knees, but Loly crushed her back down with her foot, and sneered down at her.

"You're nothing but a human. You don't deserve the honor of being at Lord Aizen's-" She smashed her sandaled foot down on Seiko's head- "_Side_." Seiko clenched her fist, but didn't try to stop the arrancar. She would've gladly given that place to them...If she could just...have Ulquiorra.. Seiko clenched her teeth, trying to wish the thought away, to no avail. She didn't try to look up at Loly.

"What? Nothing to say?" Loly asked. Menoly walked over to frown down at Seiko as well.

"What a pain in the a**." She said.

"Wanna beat her up?" Loly proposed, speaking like Seiko wasn't even there.

"Sounds good to me. We'll stop when the baby starts crying."

Loly laughed heartily; sickeningly. "An excellent idea! Show us how ugly you are when you cry!" Loly pushed Seiko's head to the side foreceably so that they could see her expression. "Show us your _ugly_-_face_." She said, kicking her again and again. Seiko just grimaced, shutting her eyes, wishing it to be over. She didn't know what else she could do in this situation. She was suddenly aware of the paper pressing up against her chest, remembering it was there.

She wouldn't even think of trying to go up against these two. They were much too strong. All she could really do was try to hang tight...waiting, and hoping that her Espada would come to intervene. But finally she couldn't take any more and she rolled out from under Loly's foot, getting up to her feet, and backing away, towards the door, with a grunt. Couldn't Ulquiorra sense what was going on? She thought she might be able to get out by using her powers, but she was afraid to show it to them, or to risk them getting destroyed.

Suddenly, a red flash shot past her, and the wall behind her exploded. Seiko cried out in startlement, as the force of the explosion flung her backwards, onto the ground, facedown. "Mph-" She pushed herself up onto her hands, opening one eye to look back, at the completely destroyed door. There-that was how she could get out-but she couldn't escape them-

"Oh, I'm so sorry! We just dropped by to visit. And it looked like you kinda wanted to go outside. So I thought I'd try to help out and open the door for you. But I guess I must've overdone it a bit." Loly said. What was wrong with them? Seiko wondered, standing, and looking at Loly, at loss for how to respond. She wanted to ask what they _wanted_ with her.

Loly stepped foward. "Oh? Is there something you want to say?" She folded her arms, as Seiko remained silent. "Well don't just stand there like that. If you have something to say, we promise we'll be nice and listen to you. We're not monsters, after all."

That was a joke. But Seiko just stood there, and again wondered where Ulquiorra was-why he would leave her all alone like this, if he had a duty to look after her. And she wanted badly to run out that wide open door and go help her friends-but she couldn't, not all alone. Seiko looked at Loly again, and replied firmly, "No- I have nothing to say to you."

Loly stared at her. "Hm." She said, ticked. Then she looked back at Menoly. "What do you think?" She asked.

"It's worth a try. Huh."replied Menoly, a red cero forming in her hand, a tight ball of intense, cackling energy. Seiko's eyes widened. What were they going to do?

"We need your help with Menoly's cero." Loly said, with a nasty smile. "It's not working too well. She can't quite control it, and sometimes it just shoots out all on its own. It's gotten so bad, if you're not careful, you might get hit by mistake. It's totally different from the balla I shot just a few minutes ago. If this one hits you, it could easily _kill_ you."

What should she do?... Seiko clenched her fists, grimacing. Then she answered. "You want my help?" She asked. "What do you want me to do? I'm nothing but a human.."

Loly looked taken aback, then she scowled, and stalked towards Seiko. "You just think you're so tough, don't you?" She said, and grabbed Seiko's shirt, pulled the girl to her. She attempted to claw at Loly's hands, trying to pry them off.

"Let go-" She got them off, and backed away. Only to have Loly growl, and smack her visciously to the ground, before she could even react. Seiko grunted, and struggled to get to her feet, as the arrancar came back towards her. Her body was in pain, but she stood, facing the arrancar fully.

Loly grabbed her head, sneering at her. "You're pathetic and weak. There's no way a mere human could stand up against an arrancar's strength. I told you, stop acting like you're better than me!" Seiko tensed-

"Loly-I think she got the message." Menoly said all of the sudden, worredly. "If you take things too far, we'll get in trouble!" She said.

"Just shut up, alright?" Loly replied angrily. "If you don't have the guts for this, then you can leave!"

"What are you doing, Loly?" Menoly exlamed, with a tinge of fearfulness.

Abruptly a bright light eclipsed them, and a loud explosion erupted behind, near the gaping hole in the wall where the door used to be, shooting dust and smoke out everywhere into the room. The two girl arrancars yelled, and covered their faces reflexively from the blast. Seiko had jumped. And she sensed a familiar (foreboding) spiritual pressure that she couldn't place right away. Loly and Menoly turned and gasped in surprise as they saw who it was, along with Seiko, who's heart skipped in shock.

"Grimmjow!" Loly exclaimed. The two stared at the Sexta Espada, stunned and frightened. Seiko's eyes were wide.

"Well, am I interupting? I see you two waltzed right in while Ulquiorra wasn't around. Looks to me like you're having a little fun, at someone's expense." He said. Seiko flinched at the mention of the Fourth Espada's name again.

"So, what of it?" Loly asked. "It's our business. And how did you get in here, anyway?" There were now two gaping holes in the wall, a new one created by Grimmjow, beside the wide open, jagged doorway.

"What do you mean, how? Through the wall, of course." Grimmjow answered sarcastically.

"Why didn't you use the door, smart a**?" Loly retorted.

"Well, I would have, but somebody seems to have blasted the things to bits and ruined the entrance. I don't suppose you ahve any idea who might've done that-?" The Sixth Espada began walking into the room with long strides.

"Don't mess with us!" Menoly warned, airily.

"Yeah! Nosy b******." said Loly.

Grimmjow ignored them, walking past Menoly, and then stopping at Loly. He stared down at her, then lifted up a hand, while the girl tensed, confused at his movement.

"Get lost." Grimmjow said, then slapped Loly visciously across the room, landing near the far wall. "Agh!" She yelled, as she was hurled several feet away, landing with a thud on the ground. Grimmjow turned to look at the injured arrancar, seeing how far he'd flung her.

"Huh? My bad. I guess I used a little too much force." He apologized, sarcastically. Loly pushed herself onto her elbows with a pained grunt, and coughed twice.

"Grimmjow!" Menoly exclamed angrily, and came at the blue-haired Espada with the red cero in her hand, enraged, Seiko watching. Grimmjow reached his own hand out and stopped hers in mid-punch, rendering Menoly defenseless. Then he formed his own cero, and blasted it out at her. Seiko shut her eyes, cringing at the loud, intense red flash and roar.

"Menoly!" Loly screamed. Seiko opened her eyes, and Menoly was-g_one_...completely. She stared in shock.

"That was dangerous." said Grimmjow mockingly, as the light died down. "You have to learn to use your cero more carefully."

"You won't get away with this!" Loly said, glaring murderously at the Sexta Espada, despite her disposition. "Lord Aizen's gonna make you pay big time when he finds out what you've done!" She said. Grimmjow slowly turned to look at her, lying on the floor, threatening _him. _

"Hmph." He strode over to Loly.

"Stop! Don't you come near me!" Grimmjow blatantly ignored her, and kept coming.

"I'm serious! What are you going to do?" Loly said frantically. "Get away from me! No-NO!"

"BOO!" Grimmjow yelled, causing Loly to yell in fright, shielding herself with her arm reflexively. Seiko jumped. Grimmjow stood over Loly with disdain, and distant amusement.

"Lord Aizen will kill you! You hear me?" Loly exclaimed. "He'll wipe you out! There won't be anything left of you when he's done!"

Grimmjow lifted his sandaled foot and stomped down on her face visciously, causing Loly to cry out. He'd kicked her hard enough to knock her unconcious for a few minutes.

"What morons." He said, staring down at Loly with repulsion. "Lord Aizen wouldn't give two cents for a couple of worthless piss ants like you." He said.

"Why are you doing this?" Seiko finally asked, since his attention was free now. What motive could he possibly have for doing this?

Grimmjow's gaze slid over to Seiko. "Returning the favor for my left arm." He answered indifferently.

"Huh? You're-repaying me?" She repleid, taken aback at his answer. "You didn't really seem like the type to return favors..." But then she remembered when he'd said 'I owe you one' after she'd restored his left arm, upon Aizen's orders-but so waht? She'd thought he'd been joking, or sarcastic. And she had hardly believed that Grimmjow had come to save her. He must have some other motive.

Grimmjow just walked over to Seiko, staring down at her with his hands lodged inside of the pockets of his long, flowing white pants, the same type as Ulquiorra's.

"It's obvious you knew I didn't come here just to save _you. _He said. Now that I've repayed my debt to you, you have no excuse to turn me down." Seiko stared up at the blue-haired, blue-eyed Espada, getting the feeling that she was going somehwere; someplace-...

"Just a little favor." He said. "Something I need you to help me with." Help him with?

"What do you mean?" Seiko asked, uncertainly. Grimmjow ignored her question, and after a moment, lifted his hand to the tender scrapes on her cheeks, making Seiko tense uneasily. Then he dropped his hand back to his side.

"Heal all those injuries you have on your face." he said. He didn't want that Soul Reaper waisting time worrying about her when he got to him, and revived him.

"-uh?" What could he possibly want that required her to heal her face? Was it somehow important to his mission? Why did he care?

"Why?.." She asked.

"I want yout o get rid of them now." Grimmjow said. Then Loly suddenly woke up, and tried to get herself up to her hands, grunting, her face screwed in a pained expression. Seiko felt a lurch of guilt, or...pity for her. Why did she feel that? In any case, she decided she should heal Menoly-that it was her duty, according to this internal conviction. Even though she didn't want to, she felt responsible for this happening, because she'd healed Grimmjow's arm, and now he was 'repaying' her for it. But this wasn't what she'd wanted.

Instead of healing her face as he'd told her, Seiko turned, and went over to the spot where Grimmjow had blasted his cero at Menoly, and knelt down on the ground, beside the remanents of the arrancar's pressence.

"Soten Kishun. I reject..." She said, bringing up the golden barrier over the spot.

"What the h*** are you doing?" Loly demanded confused and slightly frightful. Menoly began to come back, bit by bit under the golden shield, peieces of skin, bone, and the white material of her uniform stitching together and reforming her body, as Loly watched in shock and utter denial ofwhat she was seeing. Menoly-somehow being restored-brought back from the dead-

The other arrancar was there once more, lying on the floor unconscous beneath the amber light, completely restored.

"No-... No way..." Loly said, staring at her comrad in utter disbelief. Seiko let down the barrier, her fairies flying back to her hairpins. Then she stood, and walked back to the Sexta Espada, who was taking her away, walking slightly past him. She brought a hand up to where he had touched the wounds on her face. She obediantly drew a small barrier around her face, and reversed the injuries. She didn't understand at all what his motive could be for having her do this, but she did it anyway, all the while Grimmjow observing her critically, somehow bemused by her actions, or possibly dissapproving.

When the injuries were gone, Grimmjow snapped, "Alright. You've waisted enough of my time already. Now let's get going." He said impatiently, and before the blonde, silver-eyed girl could even nodd, she was suddenly hurled foward, her wrists being grabbed and roughly pinned behind her.

"MGH-What are you doing?" she demanded, struggling against Grimmjow's strong grip, trying to pull away from him, to no avail. Grimmjow's grip was as inpenatrable as Ulquiorra's had been when he'd force fed her... Two cold metal cuffs clicked around her wrists,a nd a chain jingled-Grimmjow holding the end of it, which was attached to the metal restraints.

"Let me go-Why are you doing this!" Seiko challenged, yanking foward at the chain, nearly falling, with a grunt.

"Cut it out." Grimmjow said annoyedly, jerking her back towards him.

"Mgh!"Then, from behind, he tied a gag over her mouth and secured it tightly. "Mgh-mph-mm!" Seiko struggled, enraged, against the blue-haired maniac.

"Shut it-" Grimmjow commanded, getting peeved. "Noisy pest." He knocked her unconscious with a swift, brute palm-heel strike to the back of her head, and a brief outcry from her. Then she crumpled to the floor.

Grimmjow concealed the girl shrewdly in a makeshift white sheet, and hauled her in his arms, away, dissapearing and sonidoeing ambitiously towards his prey.


	16. Encounter

Seiko came to several minutes later, and almost panicked when she opened her eyes and her vision was all white. But then she registered the brush of material against her. She was in a prison of white... Grimmjow must have stuffed her inside some sort of sack while she was unconscious. He was moving at a very high speed. She could feel the acceleration in her stomach. She still felt the faint vertigo from the effects of whatever strange chemicals Grimmjow had put in the cloth that had made her loose consciousness, but the worst of it had gone.

She felt Grimmjow soaring up... Then, all motion stopped. He was standing in place...

Seiko's heart panged when she heard a kid's voice, a little girl, wailng, and sobbing.

"Ichigo!" She called, over and over again. _Ichigo! No...he can't be- who is that girl? _She didn't recognize the voice. Seiko gritted her teeth hard, eyes squeezed shut. She wanted intensely to be able to see what was going on. She needed Grimmjow to let her out...

The girls sobs were making a big lump of dread form in her chest.

She jumped in startlement as she heard Grimmjow slammed his foot down on the ground commandingly.

"Hey kid. Beat it!" he said.

When Seiko realized he was talking to the kid, she thought with sympathy, _poor girl. _

Seiko heard the kid whimper then say... "I-It's really you..." It sounded like she was in front of Grimmjow, looking up at him -

"Grimmjow Jeaggerjaques, Espada number six."

Grimmjow didn't reply. Seiko felt him turn towards the right. Grimmjow turned towards the right, and after a brief pause, wailing slowly over to something, [or someone]. THen Seiko felt a jolt, and a cry of horror and surprise from the girl, then a thump as whatever Grimmjow had just kicked landed a little distance away.

Was that Ichigo he had just kicked? No...It couldn't be.

"_ Khh. _I figured things would be like this." He said. Seiko knew then; it was Ichigo. She felt Grimmjow yank the sack she was trapped in, as the girl exclamed "No! Please stop it!" while Grimmjow shook the cloth out violently, throwing her out onto the ground. She fell hard, helpless with her hands bound behind her.

The thin cloth snapped off of Seiko's mouth, and fell to the ground. She gasped, opening her eyes, which she had reflexively shut tight when she felt herself being thrown out of the white sack by Grimmjow that she had been trapped in.

Ichigo's blank, dead face

"No...Ichigo..." What had Grimmjow brought her here to do? To heal him?

Grimmjow sat down to wait behind her.

"You know what I brought you here to do. Now heal."

She couldn't believe it. He had really brought her here to heal Ichigo...even though they were enemies? What was he up to?

Seiko looked back at him, trying to see a clue to his intentions. He glared intensely at her, waiting for her to obey him.

"Soten-kishun. I reject.." She said, turning her focus to Ichigo, leting the golden field of light surround him, and began to heal.

_Meanwhile..._

Ulquiorra walked into Seiko's room through the original opening that had once been a doorway. He knew something was wrong when he spotted the two gaping holes in the wall, from the end of the hallway.

He was met with the sight of Loli and Menoli, standing intside. They stared up at him in fearfulness, anticipating his punishment. But now was not the time for discipline. He could see that the girl was gone, and an extensive amount of damage was left behind in her wake.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked them both.

He turned his back to them and surveyed the damage on the wall and the door more closely. It had to have been done by an arrancar; He deeply doubted Seiko could do this type of damage with her powers.

"Who did this?" He inquired.

One of the girls, Loli answered. "Grimmjow..."

Ulquiorra paused.

"I see." What could Grimmjow possibly be doing with the girl?

He had to go intervene. Aizan would not have him running around Huaco Muendo with the girl, especially when their were intruders in the Palace who had come to her rescue. If he lost her, he would have failed Aizan.

Ulquiorra left, to find the girl.

Seiko teared her eyes away from his blank face and looked over to see the girl. She was no more than three feet tall, and had big teal eyes full of kindness, a big, fitting hollow mask on the top of her head, short, bed-raggled teal hair, and wearing the same color robe, that was baggy on her small little figure. Her cheecks were wet from crying. A maroon mark went across her face, over the bridge of her nose. Her feet were bare.

"Ichigo!" The girl cried. "Ichigo was only trying to protect Nel and he took a hit from a nasty sero!" She choked on a sob. "And it wasn't just that! He was trying his best to keep Nel from getting hurt, and took a horrible kick! Nel was just a burden on Ichigo! Nel only got in the way! If Nel wasn't around Ichigo would be alright! It's only because Nel's here. THese bad things have only happened to him because he tried to save Nel! It's all Nel's doing that Ichigo's gone away. You've got to save him, Please!"

Seiko had worked out that the girl's name was Nel and she always referred to herself in third person. She listen to the girl cry, wanting to do something but knowing she was not at liberty to at the moment. It wasn't her fault. Ichigo did what he did because he was Ichigo, and he lived to protect others. It wasn't poor Nel's fault that Ichigo had gotten beaten.

It hurt to see her friend in this state. But she was certain he would be back soon...And then what?

Seiko jumped as Grimmjow yelled "QUIET!" in a very irritated tone, as Nel wailed for their fallen friend, convinced it was her own fault. She wasn't surprised at Grimmjow's reaction, of course. It only took an idiot to figure out how short of a temper the Espada had... And he had little or no compassion for anyone or anything. He was a hollow.

"If you keep crying like that, you'll be picking your teeth up off the ground. That clear to you, kid?" Seiko noticed Grimmjow wasn't even looking at the girl when he said that, but watching her slow progress with Ichigo.

Nel whimpered a very feeble affirmative, gulping meekly.

"You can stop all your d*** noise." He continued. "He's gonna be healed anyway."

Seiko turned all of her attention back to reversing Ichigo's wounds. There was a gaping hole in his chest, a deep wound that was emmanating incredible ammounts of spiritual energy, as were most of the others.

She stared at it, concentrating hard, trying to reject it. But it was so powerful. It reminded her of...

Seiko realized that the hole...was in the same place as Ulquiorra's hollow-hole was, in the center of his chest. And the powerful spiritual pressure seeping out from the wound was familiar. She realized it _was_ Uqluiorra's spiritual pressure.

_**Ulquiorra **_had done this. To her friend. She really was in love with him, Ulquiorra, a heartless enemy.

She was straddling the line between ally and enemy, between good and evil; friend and foe. And sooner or later she was going to split.

Seiko continued to try to close the wound. But the spiritual pressure was so strong...

_I can't reject it...I don't understand... _It was very powerful. She didn't know if she could heal this wound. But she had to, for Ichigo. It was the least she could do to make up for...falling in love with an arrancar. She refused to fail.

Grimmjow saw that Seiko hadn't yet healed the big hole in Kurosaki's chest. She was obviously having trouble getting past the strong spiritual pressure seeping out from it.

"It was Ulquiorra." He said, explaining bluntly. "He's got a style of fighting that is his and his alone." Seiko listened, intrigued. "It's very particular to him, like a signature. But I doubt he's aware of it."

She finally began to make progress with the wound, slow, but still better than nothing; leaving the open wound as it was would cause Ichigo alot of pain and trouble.

"When he finds prey who catches eye, he stabs them in the same spot where his own hole is." So Ichigo had...gotten Uqluiorra's attention? In that case, Seiko should be glad that she had not gotten Ulquiorra's attention as well, or she would've have ended up the same way... But maybe it would've been better,to die at his hands instead of living and falling in love with the hollow, and in that betraying her friends.

Grimmjow got up.

"I'm going to teach him...something about the nature of punishment for taking someone else's prey."

So...Grimmjow was getting back at Ulquiorra for stealing his prey. That's all he wanted with Ichigo? To fight.

She was in deep over her head with this. If Ulquiorra appeared, she would be doomed. Even if Ichigo was healed, could they really escape him?

Then, suddenly, Ichigo's hand twitched. All three of them noticed it.

Ichigo saw Seiko and Nel standing over him, as he opened his eyes and looked up.

"Nel... And...Seiko!"

"Ichigo-" Seiko said, relieved that he was finally awake.

Nel pulled herself over Seiko's right shoulder to see him as well.

"Ichigo!"

Grimmjow stomped his foot. "Shut your mouth, girl. If you have time to make a fuss, then just heal him already!"

Seiko was beginning to get annoyed by Grimmjow's short temper, but she had no place to express her feelings about it.

A look of startlement and surprise crossed Ichigo's face as he registered that familiar voice, and matching it with the 6th Espada that it belonged to.

"What the- Grimmjow! Why are you with-Seiko!"

"Shut up, Ichigo!" Grimmjow growled. "She's healing you, alright! And when you're completely healed, you and me are going one on one, soul reaper."

No! That couldn't be! But it was, and it made sense. Grimmjow wanted to kill Ichigo himself since Ulquiorra had already done it. He was angry, so he would bring Ichigo back and kill him again, by his own hands.

But Ichigo wouldn't die. Not as long as she was here, and she was Seiko Inoue.

"You're making me heal him because you want to kill him again yourself!" She outraged at Grimmjow.

"Quit all your complaining!" Grimmjow snapped, before she could go on. He spread his hands-"If it weren't for me lettin gyou save his life he'd be dead!" He thrashed his arm out-" Now get to work! Hurry! Ulquiorra will catch on to what's happening sooner or later, and come back. And before he does-"

Grimmjow stopped short abruptly, his face contorting into a look of surprise and dread, a split second before Ulquiorra appeared in the opening behind him, as if on cue.

Seiko gasped as she registered what her eyes the Espada behind Grimmjow and his immense, sickeningly familiar spiritual pressure.

"Uqluiorra...!" She said, as shocked as Grimmjow. She found it difficult to breath, and stared at him, eyes wide, not able to tear her scared gaze away from him.

He stared right at her. She felt extremely unnerved and afraid, but she did not dare to look away. Now, she was in real trouble, and she knew it. This was a very, very bad situation to be in. Ulquiorra had come to crash the party...and he might prevail and take her back again. All of this for nothing. ...

He stared at Grimmjow now, ignorant to Seiko's reaction.

Grimmjow stared back at him. The exchange was silent; intense.

"Ulquiorra..." Grimmjow said.

"What's going on here? What are you doing?" Ulquiorra inquired demandingly. When an immediate answer did not come, he added, "It seems like a simple question..."

Grimmjow did not respond- "Perhaps I should rephrase it. Why are you healing an enemy I already defeated?"

Grimmjow scoffed, with a smug expression on his face, sneering at Ulquiorra, but feeling inclined to say nothing.

"You refuse to answer?" Ulquiorra asked.

Seiko watching Ulquiorra tensely, following the event as closely as she could while still keeping her concentration on reversing the rest of Ichigo's wounds from his fight with the Fourth Espada. The exchange between Ulquiorra and Grimmjow was inwardly thrilling, and deep. She was intrigued...two Espada's having a standdown, right here. It was awestriking.

"Have it your way." Ulquiorra said, when Grimmjow stubbornly refused to answer the other Espada. "Regardless, the bottom line is Aizan entrusted that girl to my care. Hand her over."

Seiko watched Grimmjow.

"I don't think I will." He said. She felt like some sort of property, like merely a tool. And that was what it came down to, in the end. She was just a tool to them, but an important one, to Aizan.

"What did you say..."

"You heard me. But just so you're clear about my position here, let me demonstrate!" Seiko's eyes grew wide as Grimmjow abruptly hurled a powerful blue sero at Ulquiorra, the ball of bright energy forming in his hand and flying through the air towards the Fourth Espada all in the blink of an eye.

Seiko gasped, barely holding back the impulse to shout "No!" in alarm. But she watching Ulquiorra bring his hand up to intercept the sero, unphased, and calm. Grimmjow's palm pressed the sero against Ulquiorra's own hand.

Seiko marveled at the sight before her. THis was a dangerous game they were playing. All life was disposable to them, the arrancars. They hardly had any regrets of taking someone else's life, for any reason. Including her own, she knew, very well.

"Don't think I don't know what's going on with you, Uqluiorra! You're scared of fighting me. You're afraid to lose and be crushed!" Grimmjow was as psychotic as he ever had been in the heat of a battle, and Seiko watching Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, never understanding him.

Another sero, this time red, formed between their hands, at Grimmjow's summons. It sent Ulquiorra sailing backward as he deflected it. The result was versatile, also putting a more stragetic distance between the two. Seiko became more and more tense and alarmed, afraid at what this was developing quickly into. Where they going to have an all out battle, or was Grimmjow just tantalizing Ulquiorra?

"Ha! You deflected that one. How many will it take before I get you!" Grimmjow said. Yes, how many _would _it take to get Ulquiorra? Seiko did not know the bounds of Ulquiorra's power. She couldn't imagine it.

Uqluiorra abruptly vanished, and reappeared an instant later about Grimmjow, a green sero forming on the tip of his index finger, aimed down at the Sixth Espada. But Grimmjow's hand rose to intercept it just as Ulquiorra's hand had rose earlier to intercept his own sero. A smug chuckle escaped him, his confident smirk big and wide.

"Hah hah!" The sero inverted on itself, a trick Seiko had seen Grimmjow use to kill Menoli.

"Ulqu-!" Seiko breathed, only barely stopping herself short, desparately hoping Nel or Ichigo hadn't noticed it, as the sero turned and blasted out into Ulquiorra, taking out a huge chunk of the wall and sending roiling billows of dust from the rock all around, so Seiko couldn't see whether Uqluiorra was injured or somehow blocked the sero. She realized she had not felt his spiritual pressure decrease at all, which should mean he was alright.

The dust began to clear around the immediate area. The entire top of the pillar above and the former superficial walls of the blasted-in alcolve in the stone were gone, destroyed by the immense power of Uqluiorra's betraying sero. Seiko's eyes searched hard to see where the two Espada were, but she couldn't.

-Ulquiorra sailed back through the empty air. Grimmjow immediately went after him. As the Fourth Espada through through the dust and debris flying down, a hand reached out through the dust and fog, which could not be seen past.

Uqluiorra turned to look, too late to catch it. It was Grimmjow-A small blak, diamond-shaped object slipped into the hollow hole in his chest.

The trap enclosed orderly around him-Just before it enclosed him entirely, Ulquiorra cursed his foolish defeat. "D*** it"

Seiko saw what Grimmjow had done, more or less.

"What-!" She exclamed, in alarm and shock as Uqluiorra was abruptly swallowed up, and dissapeared.

-It would take a large amount of time to get out of this, and by that time, Seiko Inoue would be gone. If that happened, he woudl have failed Lord Aizan. He could not allow that to happen!

-As soon as Grimmjow landed, Seiko asked him, "What did you just do!", trying her best to sound normal and only surprised.

"Aizan gave each one of the Espadas something caled a kahatenagasion, which we can use to punish subbordinates. I used mine just now. It's a tool that can permanantely seal away the victim into another dimension. But it's power is limited."

"And...Ulquiorra isn't a subbordinate." Seiko inadvertantly interrupted him.

"I know that, dimwit." Grimmjow retorted irritably. "No, it isn't made to be used against Espada. Considering the strenth of his spiritual pressure, we've got two or three hourse before he breaks free."

_It's that powerful? _"There's no time to waste. Come on, hurry up and heal your friend."

Seiko knew she really couldn't do much about the situation. Grimmjow wanted to fight, and he would get it one way or another. All she could do was go along with it. She knew Ichigo would want to accept Grimmjow's challenge. He had to fight to protect her and Nel. That was what he would be thinking, and she would have a lot of trouble trying to stop him. She had never been able to in the past, and it was not likely she would win now.

So after a momentary hesitation, she did as much as she could with Ichigo's wounds. But before she was finished, Ichigo opened his eyes, aware of his surroundings completely. He moving a little to test his condition, then, when he found it was good enough to fight, swiftly rose to his feet. Seiko let down the gold barrier around him, watching him.

"Thank you, Seiko. That's good enough." She nodded, not really knowing how to reply. She had been forced to heal him, not that she wouldn't have were she giving free will, but even if she hadn't wanted to Grimmjow would make her one way or another. She hadn't had time to restore the completely destroyed part of his robe that left his shoulder and right half of his torso bare, or heal any of the scars still left behind. She was sure he wasstill not as good as he should be, but she couldn't stop him since he was good enough to fight Grimmjow.

Ichigo looked to Grimmjow.

"Grimmow." He said, stopping opposite of the Sixth Espada.

"Soul reaper." He replied. "We can finally finish this."

"Not yet." Ichigo said. _Huh? _Seiko thought, confused.

"Uh?" Grimmjow said.

Ichigo turned to Seiko, standing behind him now.

"Seiko. I want you to heal Grimmjow, too."

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes. "Listen, kid. You'll find that's a big mistake. I don't need your pity."

Ichigo stared at him. "Oh, it's not pity." He said. "I assume you want us both to fight at our full strength, right? Or am I mistaken? Do you plan to use your injuries as an excuse when you finally lose?"

Grimmjow drew his zan-pak-to out prompty at the blunt challenge from Ichigo, leaping foward and clashing it against Ichigo's own sword.

"Gh! Alright then. Bring it on. Let's have a fight to the death!"

They both drew apart again. "Sounds good to me." Ichigo said.

"Huh."

Seiko obediently went over to Grimmjow and sent the barrier over him, to heal his burns from the seros both he and Ulquiorra had been blasted by. Grimmjow stood their indifferently, eager and impatient for the battle to start.

Ichigo knelt in front of Nel, resting a comforting hand on her hollow mask. She was looking at him with a resentful, worried expression.

"Come on now. Don't look at me like that. I'll be alright." He said to the little hollow. Seiko listed, not watching as she focused on restoring the charred flesh on Grimmjow's right fore arm, and other spots on his torso.

"But Ichigo, Ichigo!" She wimpered, on the verge of tears.

Ichigo got up. "Same goes for you, Seiko. Seiko turned to look at him, seeing the certainty and resolve in his face.

"Ichigo!" Nel said again, sniffing.

"Hmh." He glanced back at Nel with a smile, then turned to face Grimmjow. Seiko had finished with his wounds, and stood to the side. She went over to stand with Nel, to protect her if needed.

"Let's take this battle elsewhere, Grimmjow." Ichigo said.

"Fine with me."


	17. Fight

They both pushed off the ground and shot into the air, sending a powerful blast of dust swirling around in their wake. Seiko and Nel shielded their faces from the blast, Nel whimpering.

Ichigo pulled out his Zangetsu, and activated his bankai, shooting through the air as a blak ball of energy, and landing back down on the ground heavily. , below Grimmjow, who had landed atop a pillar.

"Are you ready?" He asked, and brought his sword down on Ichigo without even waiting for an answer, meeting him in the air. Their swords clashed over and over, with grunts from both.

Seiko and Nel watched from a distance, as several explosions rose up. Nel knelt on the ground, holding her palms over her ears,w impering.

"Ichigo, Ichigo…"

Seiko went and knelt down beside Nel, resting a comforting hand on her hollow mask. Nel stopped whimpering for a second, and looked over at her.

"Huh?" Seiko smiled faintly down at her. Then she looked out at the battle now taking place, and her grin faded a bit.

"It'll be alright. Ichigo's going to win."

Nel gazed at her uncertainly. "But…you don't really know that for sure..."

"I do. He said 'Trust me, I'll win.'"

Nel waved her hands back and fourth in protest, raising her voice. "Everyone says things like that, even when they're not sure! There's no guarantee! You can't tell anything from those words! Ichigo's probably scared! People always say that kind of stuff when they're scared!

"Not Ichigo. I've known him for a long time, and I know that he wouldn't say he was going to win unless he was absolutely sure in his mind and his heart that he has every intention of winning. Now...is no exception. He will make a promise, more to himself than anyone else, then speak it so he can make it come true...So when he says that he is going to win, he had in mind to do just that, regardless of whether he is afraid or not."

Nel stared at her with her big bronze eyes, hopeful. "You mean it?" She asked.

"Of course. We just have to believe in him, believe that he will do as he said." Seiko could hear Nel begin to cry again behind her.

Ichigo's and Grimmjow's swords clashed. Both letting out grunts, Grimmjow with a cocky smile on his face. They both jumped apart, and Grimmjow let out a red cero from his palm as he flew back. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Getsuga—Ten-" His bankai met Grimmjow's palm, and Grimmjow's sword flew out of his hand. But that didn't stop him. Another cero formed in his palm. This time, Ichigo could not stop it.

The cero blasted out a huge hole in a pillar behind him, leaving Ichigo standing in a crater, looking up at Grimmjow.

Nel and Seiko's eyes widened.

"Hahahahahaha, nice! I've been waiting a long time for this, the chance to crush you while you're at full strength! And you feel the same way, don't you? Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo stared up at the sixth Espada. "You're wrong." He said. "I didn't come here to take you on so I could crush you."

"Don't give me that pathetic lie!" Grimmjow exclaimed. "Now say it! Say that you can't wait to get a hold of me, and rip me apart for tearing up that friend of yours! The truth is—you wanna kill me, don't you!

Ichigo remembered what had happened, when he had first faced Grimmjow.

_"Which one of you is the strongest—which one of you is gonna take me on?"_

_"Ichigo, get out of here. Run!" Rukia yelled._

_Grimmjow's hand suddenly went through Rukia's torso. _

_Rukia moaned, blood tricking out her mouth, the strength slowly seeping from her. Grimmjow pulled his arm out of her and tossed her to the ground. _

_"Heh."_

_"No, Rukia!" Ichigo exclaimed, and charged at Grimmjow. The Espada turned to look at him, a huge smile on his face._

Ichigo glared at the sixth Espada.

"Now I get my revenge." Grimmjow said. "You'll understand why I kept this scar on my chest- to remind me of my humiliation" This time, Grimmjow had the flash back.

_"Getsuga—Tensho!" A huge blast of dark energy hit Grimmjow. He crossed his arms to block it, but some of it got through, scorching his torso. _

_Ichigo stood there in the crater, gasping desparately for breath. _

Grimmjow grinning down at the orange- haired soul reaper. "Let's get started. I'm gonna choke the life out of you. And finally prove—which one of us is stronger!" Grimmjow lept up, and retrieved his sword, sticking out of the pillar. He jumped back up, landing atop the pillar again.

Ichigo just looked up at him, silent, and didn't make a move.

"What now? You little weakling. After all this, you still don't look like you wanna kill me…You're so pathetic."

"Is that right?" Ichigo said. Suddenly, Grimmjow disappeared. He reappeared behind Ichigo, landing a blow right where he had been standing a second ago. Ichigo had barely had time to dodge.

Grimmjow turned and swung his sword out, Ichigo meeting it in mid-air, as he was still soaring upside down. Ichigo landed, twisting around and swinging his sword. Grimmjow met it and batted it away. They clashed two more times, and white their swords were still locked together, Grimmjow spoke.

"I have a question for you." He said. "Why did you bother coming here in the first place?"

"Are you some kind of idiot, Grimmjow?" Ichigo replied. "I came here to rescue Seiko!"

Seiko and Nel watched the dispute anxiously.

"Ha! Oh really? Well if that's true, then why didn't you grab the girl and run the moment you saw her?"

"Gh-" Ichigo recalled seeing Grimmjow, with his hand around Seiko's throat. He'd placed his hand on Grimmjow's arm, glaring up at the Espada.

"Tell me, were you relieve to see that she was unhurt? Or atleast appeared to be on the surface…Were you born naive or did you just grow up that way?"

Ichigo's eyes widened with anger. "You bastards—what did you guys do to Seiko?"

Grimmjow savored his fury. "Good, that's more like it, Ichigo!" Their swords clashed again, and then they pulled apart.

"You said you came here to save that girl, right? Let me enlighted you since you don't seem to get it." He said, and looked up at Ichigo. "You're wrong. The only reason that you came here is to fight. Come on, Ichigo. Are you even aware of the path to which your instincts have lead you? You're a soul reaper. I'm a hollow. The loser of this battle will be slaughtered. It's been that way for over a thousand years!" Grimmjow came at him. "That's all the reason you need to fight, got it! Come on! It's pure and simple. The last one standing gets to live! Hagh!" Grimmjow attacked him.

"Gh!" The two zanpakto met, force of impact getting grunts out of them both. They came at eachother again, and again, and again. Ichigo drew back his bankai, drawing a wave of black energy forth. Grimmjow braced for it, one palm out, his other hand holding his sword at his side. Grimmjow formed a cero, and Ichigo raised his sword up behind his head to attack.

Ichigo's Getsuga- Tensho and Grimmjow's cero met, but then another cero flew past Ichigo, as he dodged it. Grimmjow sonidoed up behind Ichigo, blade drawn back for an attack. Ichigo turned and saw him, but not soon enough to block. He was forced back. Grimmjow's zanpakto slicing him with blue energy. Grimmjow flew down after him, and sliced him again, landing down on the ground below as Ichigo was still falling, blood spurting out from the wound.

Grimmjow stuck his blade in the sand, down on his knees, back to the soul reaper. "You've got a nice, murderous look in your eyes now. But—" Grimmjow took two fingers, and sliced them on his own sword, pulling them back rapidly, and turning around fast on his feet, the blood flying in a ribbon.

"It's not good enough!" He exclaimed. Ichigo was still falling backwards, as Grimmjow spoke. "You're not in the level yet to where I want this battle to take place!" Grimmjow held out his arm, the other supporting it, his knuckles bent, fingers splayed out. A ball of blue lighting formed in his palm, zig-zagging branches of energy jutting out from the center of the immense bright ball of power. The ball grew larger in size, until it blocked Grimmjow completely.

"This is the ultimate sero which only the Espada can use!" Grimmjow shouted past the loud, cackling energy. Ichigo continued to fall, and Seiko and Nel watched him tensely. Suddenly, Ichigo turned his head to look at them. His eyes widened in alarm.

"Seiko!-" Ichigo swiveled his body to face Grimmjow, and yelled, "Hold on! Don't release it!"

Grimmjow ignored him. "Granre-Cero!" He shouted, grinning wildly. He released the huge blaze of energy, and it hurtled through the air, flying directly towards Ichigo and Nel and Seiko in a crazy, lightning fast path.

Niether Seiko or Nel had time to react before it impacted. But they didn't feel a thing. Dust clouds rose up, traces of the energy splitting and dispersing.

Ichigo had drawn his hollow mask and blocked it just in time.

Seiko gasped. "Ichigo—"

Nel stared with wide eyes. "Ichigo—" She said too.

"Welll, it's about time." Grimmjow said. Ichigo let out a hollow-like growl.

Ichigo hovered before Seiko and Nel. Grimmjow smirked maliciously.

Seiko stared at Ichigo's back. Seconds passed. She could feel the dark energy, swirling around inside of him. What was this? It didn't even feel like Ichigo anymore.

Ichigo turned his head, looking at her for a moment. She stared into the cold, black eyes with smoldering golden irises. His face was covered in a mask, it looked like a hollow mask. Ichigo looked away, turning his back on her again. She heard his voice, distorted, alien-"Sorry. This frightens you, doesn't it?" Ichigo said. " I know it's pointless to tell you not to worry when I look like this. But I'll tell you anyway. There's nothing to worry about. I'll finish this quickly."

Seiko let out a breath. The strong, protective Ichigo she knew was at complete odds with this dark, animal, violent energy she could feel in his spiritual pressure, and could see in those eyes.

Grimmjow let out a mad laugh. "It's about time!" He said. " Now we can get down to business!" He picked up his sword from where he had shoved it in the ground, and brought it horizontally across his torso, laying right hand on the blade. The sword began to glow blue, and massive dust clouds began to whirl around his feet.

The sexta Espada lifted his gaze to Ichigo as his right hand clawed his sword. "Grant—Pantera!" He yelled, jerking his hand free of the blade, creating an explosion, the dust clouds heightening their speed and whirling around him like a cyclone, obscuring him from view.

As Seiko stared at Ichigo's back, unable to see anything else but swirling dust clouds, Ichigo spoke to her again. "Seiko, use your Santen Keshu to protect you and Nel until this is over. No matter what happens, don't take it down."

Seiko simply stared at him, still utterly shocked by his transformation.

"Do it now." Ichigo said.

"Ok." Seiko said. "Santen-Keshun. I reject!" she said, activating the golden force field of light in front of them. Soon enough, the dust clouds parted, and Seiko could see Grimmjow again. She gasped at his drastically changed appearance...He still had the same vibrant cerulean blue hair, but it was much longer, its length reaching to his ankles. A white band went around his forehead, pushing stray electric blue bangs over it. His entire body was now covered in segmented white hollow armor, and he had elongated black claws, and black _paw _feet, like a panther. And he had a tail. It looked incredible.

Ichigo raised his bankai up.

Grimmjow spread his claws, threw his head back, and let out an ear splitting cry. A shockwave swirled violently around him from the sheer power of his voice.

_What the h***- a shockwave. He generates that much power just by screaming?_ Ichigo marveled.

The clouds dissipated suddenly, and Grimmjow vaulted off the ground with one foot, twisting in the air, and speeding towards Ichigo. He came up right above him, knees to his chest, and kicked Ichigo down visciously. Ichigo hadn't even had time to react. He fell through six pillars, and got kicked two more times by Grimmjow, once from above and once from below, until he was soaring up in the air again.

"D*** it." Ichigo got hit again by Grimmjow from behind. Seiko and Nel watched, shocked by the power Grimmjow was displaying

"Hagh!" Grimmjow pulled one clawed hand back, and then swung, pounding Ichigo down into the grey pillar below them. He hovered above the wreck, waiting for the soul reaper to come out of the billowing dust clouds he had created. Several moments passed, and Grimmjow searched through the smoke.

"What's wrong with you? You can do better than that. Come out and fight."

Ichigo rose up behind Grimmjow, his bankai raised above his head. "Getsuga—Tensho!" He swung, and Grimmjow was hit with a huge blast of black energy. Ichigo could hear his mad laughter from inside the dust clouds.

Grimmjow batted the clouds away with his arm. "Yeah, Ichigo. That's what I'm talking about. Those eyes—I hate those d*** eyes! And that's why you gotta die!" Grimmjow came at him, and striked him down again. "Ha! I'm gonna take you down, Ichigo Kurosaki!" He followed the falling soul reaper and inflicted another blow, driving him into the pillar behind them. Ichigo landed with his bankai up, blocking Grimmjow's hands.

"I see you've increased the amount of time you can sustain that mask since we last met." Grimmjow remarked. "Have you been training since then? Or have you just ignorantly been gaining experience in the battles you've had since the last time we fought?" Grimmjow grinned, showing rows of pointy white teeth. "Heh. It doesn't matter. In fact, I'm glad. It wouldn't be any fun if your mask cracked too quickly, like it did last time!" As he spoke, Grimmjow lifted his hand, and then brought it down fast, about to penetrate Ichigo's torso. But Ichigo caught it, and spoke.

"So, you're worried about this fight being boring? I'll spice it up for ya then." Ichigo raised his spiritual pressure, getting a taken aback grunt from Grimmjow. Ichigo swung his sword, and sliced across Grimmjow's torso. The sixth Espada fell back through the air, eyes wide, blood spurting out from his wound. "You know what I think would be really boring? If you weren't in your release form. So do me a favor, and stay just the way you are!"

Ichigo jumped up from the pillar, and swung at Grimmjow with his sword. Grimmjow blocked it with one hand, then batted it away and kicked Ichigo in the gut. Ichigo recovered quickly and swung two more times with his sword, but Grimmjow dodged both times. Then the sixth Espada spun around, so fast he looked like a tornado, and feinted a kick, then dealt the real blow with his hand, striking Ichigo down to the ground below.

Grimmjow laughed. "Come on Ichigo Kuraski! Is that all you got?" Grimmjow dived down towards the crater where Ichigo had landed, grin on his face. Then his eyes suddenly widened, as a blade shot out of the dust, and sliced him from his shoulder and down his arm. Ichigo flew past Grimmjow, and for a moment they both hung there in the dust clouds. Then Ichigo turned and flew towards Grimmjow, sword ready, and swung out. Grimmjow turned and blocked with his arm, still in slight shock. The inpact created yet another violent explosion.

Nel and Seiko looked down from the pillar, but they couldn't see anything yet past the dust clouds.

"I-Ichigo?" Nel said.

"Come on, Ichigo." Seiko said, waiting anxiously for the clouds to part.

Grimmjow reached at Ichigo from behind, but Ichigo saw him and turned, blocking him and following up with his own attack, sword swinging horizontally at Grimmjow. Grimmjow jumped up and dodged the attack, then swung his leg around and caught Ichigo in the head, jumping up and kicking again, this time Ichigo stepping aside so he missed, and landed hard on the ground. Grimmjow drew apart again, and then ran around in a semi- circle, letting out a growl, coming at Ichigo. Blade and claw met, and they both flew apart.

Then they came at each other again.

Seiko watched the battle, thinking. It was still a shock. She could hardly believe that this mask-covered soul reaper was really Ichigo. She barely recognized him. His eyes were dark and cold, and his spiritual pressure was so dark and malicious. It was like she didn't even know him anymore.

Ichigo met his sword with Grimmjow's attack, and the impact forced them back once again. They came at each other again, and then Grimmjow swung a kick, missing his head but getting Ichigo in the gut. Ichigo staggered back, and Grimmjow came at him again, Ichigo blocking the attack. The sixth Espada landed behind him and immediately turned for another attack. He kicked, Ichigo blocked and slashed, and Grimmjow back-flipped to avoid it. Grimmjow came back and sent Ichigo flying back with an attack. Ichigo skidded to a halt on the side of the pillar.

"Ha!" Grimmjow scoffed. "Take this!" Grimmjow said. Five missiles suddenly flew out from his arm, heading straight at Ichigo. Ichigo dodged easily, but then looked up, and realized where those missiles were headed.

Again, neither Seiko or Nel had time to react to the attack, before Ichigo screamed,

"Seiko!" And flashed up, catching all of the missiles with his body. Seiko watched it happen in horror. Blood spurted from Ichigo's mouth.

Nel yelled "I-Ichigo…" Nel said, whimpering.

"Ichigo-No! Why?" Seiko said. Why did he have to get hurt to protect her? Why couldn't she have reacted faster and gotten her and Nel out of the way?

"I'm alright. Don't worry. This is nothing." He looked up at her, and Seiko got a clear view of his mask. She gasped. It looked so familiar. She had seen it before…On her brother.

Ichigo saw the shock in her eyes, and turned, leaping back down quickly. He couldn't stand to have his friend look at him that way. Seiko watched him soar back down to the battle. She knew he couldn't be that animal inside…She knew it in her heart. He wasn't like Ulquiorra, or Grimmjow. She knew it.

Ichigo landed on the ground before Grimmjow, panting. Grimmjow gazed at him.

"Heh. That was quite impressive. Was saving your friends worth the pain?..." Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at Ichigo, as Ichigo continued to catch his breath, staying silent. "What's wrong?" Grimmjow asked. "You look like you're out of breath."

Ichigo spoke. "You might wanna spend less time running your mouth, and more figuring out how to survive." He said.

"Ha." Grimmjow scoffed. "You can drop the tough guy act." Grimmjow lifted an arm, a blade coming out of his forearm. A missile shout out from it, into the pillar behind him. He watched it explode, and then said, "I hit you with five of those attacks already. Your body had taken significant damage.

A crack formed in Ichigo's mask.

"Your mask must be at its limit."

"It's limit?" Ichigo said, bringing a hand to the crack. "Not even close!" He swiped his hand across it, and the fissure disappeared.

"You just don't give up!" Grimmjow said, bringing a hand back in preparation for an attack. "But that's the way I like it." Then he let out a little noise of surprise, when the white band around his forehead fractured.

"Hate to break it to you, but you're looking kind of banged up yourself." Ichigo remarked.

"Heh. Afraid not." Both of them pushed off their feet and ran at each other. "I've never felt better in my life!"

Another blast sounded from the impact of their attacks, and several more followed.

Nel and Seiko continued to watch the battle from atop the pillar.

Ichigo and Grimmjow let out yells, coming at each other yet again.

Seiko calmed her thoughts, knowing that what she was thinking was not right. She couldn't be afraid of this new form Ichigo was taking on. She knew he could never become her brother, no matter how much they resembled each other. She knew his eyes, they weren't his. They saw right through her, just like her brother's had. But it wasn't the same. She had faith in Ichigo.

Grimmjow and Ichigo attacked, and then fell back, blood spurting from both of them. They drew together again, Grimmjow attacking, Ichigo blocking, and then Grimmjow throwing another attack, this time sending Ichigo tumbling back head over heals. Grimmjow flew at him through the air, spinning in a ball, and then coming down so violently that they crushed the pillar they impacted on. It crumbled down, huge chunks of block plummeting to the ground.

Nel watched the battle, her eyes big and worried. "Oh no…Even with is hollow mask on, Master Grimmjow is still defeating him. And his fight with Master Dordonii…" Nel recalled the battle. "And against Master Ulquiorra..."

Seiko cringed at the mention of Ulquiorra, but she tried to push the pain away.

"Whenever Ichigo put on his mask, there was never any doubt that he was going to win. When Ichigo was masked, there was no one who could beat him. But now..."

Ichigo tumbled back through the air, and slashed at Grimmjow with his sword. Grimmjow blocked, sending Ichigo several punches and kicks, which Ichigo blocked. But then Grimmjow drew his arm back and sent one vicious punch, and even blocking with his sword Ichigo was sent plummeting backwards.

"What's happening to Ichigo? How could he be loosing like this?" Nel questioned, her eyes wide with horror as she watched Ichigo fall back, some of his mask crumbling, and blood spurting from his mouth. Suddenly, Nel looked up at Seiko, who was staring off into the distance, looking up at the sky with worried eyes, one arm clutching the other at its side. Then Nel turned her attention back to the battle. She yelled out,

"Hey! You can do it Ichigo!" Nel yelled. Seiko heard her, and looked down at the little arrancar. "Come on, I know you can!" Nel looked at her.

"Well what are you just standing there for? You need to cheer him on too!"

Seiko stared dumbly at her. "Huh?"

"That's the best you can do? He's out there risking his life for you and all you can say is 'huh?'"

Seiko got what she was saying now. "Well, I—" She started to say, but Nel continued,

"Ichigo cares about you! He cared so much that when he heard your name he attacked Master Ulquiorra with everything he had!" Seiko's composure wavered again, but she continued to listen to Nel. "I know he's a soul reaper now, but don't forget Ichigo's still human!" Seiko could see tears falling down her face. "Think about what he's gone through. Every time he uses that mask, he exposes himself to its insane powers. He has to be suffering! But he's doing it for you so he doesn't care. He uses the power and endures all the pain and suffering for you! How will he feel—How will he feel when he doesn't even hear your voice cheering him on?"

Seiko had never even thought of it that way. She felt horrible, as she watched Ichigo bring his sword down on Grimmjow, get kicked away, and then come at him again. How could she be so ignorant? She remembered the whole reason she had come to Hueco Muendo was to protect her friends, who's lives had been threatened if she did not go. She had sacrificed everything. But when she had heard that her friends had come to save her, somewhere deep inside, she had been happy.

But then she had begun to have feelings for Ulquiorra, and she felt ashamed. How could she ever turn her back on her friends, who had come to save her? How could she ever love an arrancar who had tried to kill then, tried to kill Ichigo…How could she? She didn't deserve anyone coming to save her. But since they had come, she ought to appreciate it.

Grimmjow spun around fast and kicked Ichigo back, sending him tumbling back into the pillar. Chunks of rock fell down.

Grimmjow stood over the pile of wreckage. "It looks like you were wrong again." He said. "You've reached your limit."

Ichigo struggled back up to his feet, teetering a little, grunting with the effort. Only the right side of his mask was left, from the forehead down to the top row of teeth. He looked up at Grimmjow, panting heavily.

"It was fun." Grimmjow said. "But now it's over." He readied a claw up in front of him.

Seiko cupped her hands around her mouth, hoping her voice would carry and that it wouldn't crack, and that if he looked, Ichigo wouldn't be able to see the tears in her eyes, because he could never find out the reason they were there.

"Ichigo…Please, don't die on me. You can't…"

Ichigo's eyes widened when he heard Seiko's voice. He turned and looked up at her. Seiko knew she had heard him, and she could see he'd turned to look at her. She continued, "I don't deserve you fighting for me, or coming to save me…" Tears were now streaming down her face, but she couldn't help it. She let her head drop. "But please, just please…don't die…not for me…I couldn't bear the responsibility."

Grimmjow came running towards Ichigo, ignoring the exchange.

"Kurosaki!" He yelled. Grimmjow's hand flew at Ichigo, ready to deal the killing blow. But Ichigo caught it, bringing Grimmjow to a complete halt. Ichigo squeezed his hand, turning to look at him.

"So Grimmjow, here's the deal." Grimmjow let out a noise of shock, while Ichigo continued. "You see, I've had a change of heart. And I can't allow myself to get beaten by someone like you."

Grimmjows eyes widened, as Ichigo suddenly brought his sword down, and sliced open Grimmjow's torso. Blood shot up out of the wound.

Nel and Seiko watched in shock, Nel's jaw dropping as she gaped in disbelief. Ichigo panted, as Grimmjow froze, tottered, and then dropped to the ground.

_It's over._ Ichigo thought. But suddenly, Grimmjow's hand came up and grabbed Ichigo's sword.

"You're a fool, Ichigo." Grimmjow said. "I'm still here!" He said, as he knelt on the ground before the soul reaper. "You think that you won? You think you've beaten me? I'll scatter your bones in the sand!" He yelled.

"Look out, Ichigo!" Seiko exclaimed in alarm. She watched Grimmjow thrust his hand through Ichigo's torso. Then he pulled it out, and both of them jumped away, Ichigo clutching his wound, blood seeping past his hand. His breathing was heavy.

"What? Those eyes—they keep mocking me! No matter how badly I beat you, somewhere deep inside you always think you can beat me! You always believe you're superior to me!" Grimmjow ran at him. "I can't stand that! Agh!" He swung at Ichigo and struck him down again. Ichigo stumbled back, and landed hovering in the air as Grimmjow came at him again.

"Hugh!" Grimmjow's hand was blocked with Ichigo's sword, the blow sending them both flying backwards.

"Haha!" Ichigo laughed. "Just what is it you can't stand? Are you upset that a lowly human like me would have the nerve to treat you like an equal?"

Grimmjow brought his claw and thrust it into Ichigo's torso, causing the soul reaper to choke up more blood. He followed up with a kick that sent him flying up into the air.

"That has nothing to do with it." Grimmjow said, holding one arm out. "It doesn't matter to me if you're a human, a soul reaper, or an arrancar! They're all the same. Anybody that looks down on me…Will be crushed!" Grimmjow leapt up to meet Ichigo in the air. Ichigo grunted.

Grimmjow disappeared, and came up behind him. "As for you, Ichigo," He said, and Ichigo tilted his head back to look at him. "You're gonna be the first one to go!" Grimmjow brought his clawed hands up together, and suddenly blue rays of light came out of each claw, expanding out before him. "Huh. Are you ready?" Grimmjow said.

Ichigo did a back flip to reverse his direction, and landing on the ground to face Grimmjow. "What the hell is that?" He said incredulously, staring at the huge claws of energy.

Grimmjow grinned. "Desgarron-it's my ultimate technique." Grimmjow brought a pair of his claws to bear, and extended them towards Ichigo in an attack. Ichigo blocked with his bankai, but was forced back a long ways by the speed of the assault, until he finally ducked under it and let it strike the pillar behind him, which happened to be the one Seiko and Nel were atop. The pillar remained stable.

Grimmjow let out a roaring laugh. "It's over. You're finished, Ichigo!" He yelled, as Ichigo plummeted head first to the ground. "I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face!" He exclaimed aloud. "I am the king!" Ichigo caught his footing, skidding back and to a halt. Grimmjow looked at him, surprised. Ichigo leapt up and met the Desgarron with his sword, slashing it with a yell, and shattering them. Broken shards of energy rained downon Nel and Seiko.

"You know," Ichigo said, "I got news for you. You're not the only one who wants to win."

"What's that?"

"You wanna kill me because of how I look at you?" The rest of the blue claws faded around Ichigo one by one. "Well…" He said. "I know how you feel!" Ichigo pushed off the ground, flying towards Grimmjow. Grimmjow hurled another set of claws at Ichigo. "You were right before, when you said that I came here because I wanted to fight! Guaghh!" Ichigo slashed the claws once again with his sword, bringing his sword down the length of each one of them as he spoke. "The real reason I came here—was to defeat you! So I'm going to destroy you, and Ulquiorra. I'm going to defeat Aizen! And then I'm gonna take Rukia, and Chad, and Uryu, and Renji—I'm going to take Seiko-all of my friends—and bring them home safe with me! I won't lose to you!"

Ichigo thrust his sword into Grimmjow, as the claws shattered once again. Grimmjow looked down at the blade, stuck in his torso.

"Gh—" He shuddered slightly. "D*** you…" Ichigo pulled his sword out. Grimmjow slowly began to fall, but Ichigo caught him by the hand, as the rest of his mask crumbled away. He lowered the defeated Espada down gently to the ground, and let him lay there. Then he turned, and walked away, towards Seiko and Nel. He leapt up and hovered there above them.

Seiko looked away for a moment, crushing her feelings of guilt and shame inside of her, and looking back at him.

"Are you—" Seiko started to ask.

"Hurt?" Ichigo finished. "I was- gonna ask you that. I'm fine." Seiko gave a weak smile, letting out a breath. She was staring into his normal face once more, no hollow mask or cold black pits for eyes. Just his regular brown irises and regular skin.

"Good." She said, deeply relieved. "I'm fine as well… " She said, looking away from him as the feelings rose up again. "Thank you…" Seiko closed her eyes. She could feel them tearing up, but she bit back the tears. She didn't want Ichigo to see them. He could never know the reason why.

"Good, that's a relief." Ichigo said, smiling.

"Ichigo!" Nell yelled, plunging head first into the orange haired soul reaper. "Ahh!" Ichigo yelled, loosing grip of his sword and skidding back in effort to catch Nel. His sword flew back and landed into the rock beside Seiko.

Ichigo grabbed Nel. "Are you crazy?" He yelled. "I'm standing in midair! You would've fallen hundreds of feet to your death if I hadn't caught you! Did you even think about that?"

"Nel's so happy…" Nel cried, ignoring Ichigo's rants. "Ichigo, you're alive! Nel's so happy you didn't die!" Ichigo smiled, instantly calming down.

"Ah," He layed a hand gently on her hollow mask. "Thanks, Nel. I appreciate it." Ichigo lept up onto the pillar, and set Nel down.

Then he went over to Seiko, and suddenly lifted her up over his shoulder.

"UH?" Seiko uttered in surprise, eyes wide. "Ichigo, what are you doing- put me down!" She cried indignantly.

"Well yeah, that's what I'm trying to do. With all this rubble everywhere, it'd be must easier to carry you then look for a stair way."

Seiko was about to argue, but she realized that she really had no place to. After all, he had just come to save her. She should be grateful. And she was. So she let Ichigo carry her as he jumped down from the pillar, landing softly on the ground. Then he set her down.

"Alright then. I better go. After all, somebody's gotta go help Chad and Rukia." He said.

Nel spoke up, "Hey, what about us? You're not just gonna leave us here!"

"Nah, I wouldn't do that. Just come with me. It's too dangerous to stay here."

Suddenly, a voice spoke behind them. All three of them turned to look, aghast. There stood Grimmjow, panting.

"It's Grimmjow." said Ichigo. The sixth Espada began making his way to Ichigo slowly, each step seeming to take a tremendous effort.

Ichigo gripped his sword tighter, ready for any attack that might come.

Grimmjow stopped walking foward, and his body began to glow blue. Then, they watched as his release form vanished, and he reverted back to his regular self. Still, he glared at Ichigo with murder burning in his eyes as he gasped for breath.

"You can't defeat me! You-You're too weak! I'd never lose to you!" He came at Ichigo, and Ichigo grabbed Grimmjow's wrist as he thrust his zakpakto out at him, dropping his own sword to do so.

"Just let it go, Grimmjow." He said. "You've already lost. You say you're some kind of king? But killing everyone you dislike makes you a king with no subjects. What's the point in that? If you truly hate me, I'll fight you anytime you want. But for now...you need to give up."

There was a moment of silence, in which Grimmjow looked like he might actually take heed to Ichigo's words. But then his eyes widened, and he swung his sword at Ichigo once again.

"Never!" He yelled. "I'll show you!"

But then something struck him down. Grimmjow fell to the ground, and the blade retracted back to its owner.

"You just don't know when to call it quits." Ichigo, and the others, looked to see who it was.

A long, spindly Espada with lengthy black hair, a sinister, snaky smile, and narrow, creepy eyes stood there. He swung his sword out to the side-it looked like two half moons, both black and white, ajoined to each other at the vertex, the open parts facing outwards. They were attached to long black pole, with a black chain at the end looping around it. And his head was eclipsed by a large bowl like thing that was part of his uniform.

"Hurry up and die." He said. "I want him for myself."


End file.
